





**> 






fc 



*5 ^ 



,0o 

A -X 















"V 



V 



* 



























r ^: 



ir 



c- ,; 






<„ 






■& 









\p 












A 



^ ^ " © 















^ 












^ 



A» * 






\. 1 B 



4 









> <i 















%. ^ 



<s* T> 






'K^ r^\ 


















^ 






°o 









^oo^ 










o^ 






















































>v 



*ri* 



* *% 










^ 






• o 


















cK 





































<*. 




















\^ ^ 





















>* v 




































r ^ 
















e^^ti^cccQ Cl. 



SANDWICH ISLAND 



NOTES. 



BY A il A L E. 




NEW YORK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
82 BEBKMAN STREET. 

1854. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 

HARPER & BROTHERS, 
In the Clerk's Office for the Southern District of New York. 






PREFACE, 



It is with feelings of much diffidence I submit the 
following pages to a perusal by the public, but it is 
with the hope that the object at which they aim will 
be speedily accomplished. Several pamphlets and vol- 
umes have already been issued from the press, concern- 
ing that most important of all the groups that stud the 
vast Pacific — the Sandwich Islands. But these facts 
have not deterred me from making my own observa- 
tions, and employing my own language. 

If the present condition of affairs at the Hawaiian 
Islands augur any thing, there can not but be a good 
prospect that they will soon form an integral portion of 
the United States. They are absolutely essential to the 
protection and advancement of American commerce, 
and whoever owns them will be master of the Pacific. 

I have endeavored to portray the condition of things 
as they appeared to me in 1853, and my only aim has 
been impartiality, independent of all party considera- 
tion. I have taken especial pains to develop the past 
and present condition of the people, in their various re- 
lations, and have endeavored to specify a few reasons 
for the " annexation" of that important group of isl- 
ands. 

I have drawn extensively from materials furnished 



yi PREFACE. 



me on my tour, such as the " Hawaiian Spectator ;" 
the " Official Reports" of the Ministers of Finance, Pub- 
he Instruction, Foreign Relations, and the Department 
of the Interior ; also the " Annual Report of the Chief- 
justice ;" " Answers to Questions" proposed by his ex- 
cellency, R. C. Wyllie, his Hawaiian Majesty's Minis- 
ter of Foreign Relations, and addressed to all the mis- 
sionaries on the Hawaiian group ; " Dibble's History 
of the Sandwich Islands," and " Ellis's Notes of a Tour 
over Hawaii." 

Hoping these " Notes" may be received with the same 
spirit in which they are written — a fearless independ- 
ence — I humbly commend them to the candid and phil- 
anthropic, who alone have the prerogative to applaud 
or censure the performances of their fellows. 

New-York, February 4, 1854. 



CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER I. 

FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO HONOLULU. 

Departure from San Francisco. — A Glance at its Histpry. — Causes 
of the Change. — Its Future. — Tug-boat "Resolute." — Ship nearly 
ashore. — The Rescue. — Once more at Anchor Page 17 

CHAPTER II. 

Daylight and Storm. — "Weigh Anchor. — First Night at Sea. — The 
next Morning. — Stormy "Petrel." — Impressive Moral. — Dinner 
during a Gale. — The Ocean in a Storm. — A Child born at Sea. — 
"New-y ear's" Day. — Sunset in the Tropics. — A Calm on the Ocean. 
— "Land-ho!" — Landmarks for the Mariner. — Farewell to the 
"Sovereign" 21 

CHAPTER III. 

ISLAND OF OAHU. HONOLULU. 

Location of Honolulu. — Honolulu, Past and Present — Harbor. — 
Coral Reefs. — Commerce. — Palace of Kamehameha III. — A Glance 
at the Monarch. — His Successor proclaimed. — Royal Soirees. — Ha- 
waiian Parliament 31 

CHAPTER IV. 

HONOLULU. 

The Fort. — Doings of the French. — Mistaken Policy. — Popery a 
source of Trouble to the Hawaiian Government. — Vattel quoted. 
— An intoxicated Sailor. — Insane native Woman 45 

CHAPTER V. 

HONOLULU. 

Public Buildings. — Churches. — Schools. — Benevolent Institutions. — 
Cemeteries, Foreign and Native. — A Visit to the Royal Tomb 59 



v iij CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HONOLULU. 

Society. — Foreign Officials. — Residents, Foreign and Native. — Ha- 
waiian "Women and Dress. — False Charges refuted. — Population. — 
Police. — Militia. — Hawaiian Guards. — Houses. — Streets. — Street 
Scenes. — Honolulu at Night. — Saturday Sports. — Sunday in Hon- 
olulu Page 74 

CHAPTER VII. 

ENVIRONS OF HONOLULU. 

Nuuanu Valley. — The Pali of Nuuanu. — Former Battle-ground. — 
Ride to Diamond Head. — Village of Waikiki. — Remains of a Pa- 
gan Temple. — Reflections on Paganism. — Leahi, or Diamond Head. 
— View from the Summit. — The Plains below. — Punch-bowl Hill 
and its Fortifications. — Panoramic View of Honolulu. — Alia-paa- 
kai, or Salt Lake. — Curious Theory relating to it. — Testimony of 
Commodore Wilkes, U. S. N 90 

CHAPTER VIII. 

JOURNEY TO KUALOA. 

Plains of Kaneohe. — Konahuanui Mountains. — Geological Features. 
— Probable Formation. — Site of an old Pagan Game. — A Legend. — 
Missionary Station at Kaneohe. — Christianized Natives. — "Month- 
ly Concert." — Residence of the Missionary, and Style of Living. — 
Road along the Sea-shore. — White Man turned Savage. — Singular 
Coral-reefs. — Fish-ponds. — Women as Laborers. — Driving Hogs to 
Market. — Simplicity of Native Manners, and Domestic Life. — A 
solitary Grave. — A Hawaiian Patriarch. — Thoughts on early 
Races. — A Native Judge. — Taro Plantations. — Taro as an article of 
Food. — How converted into Poi. — Kualoa. — Sunset. — Night 104 

CHAPTER IX. 

JOURNEY TO WAIALUA. 

Road to Ewa. — Repairing Roads. — Paahao Labor. — Natives as La- 
borers. — A Trial of Patience. — Balaam and his Ass. — The Proph- 
et's Conclusion. — Philosophy of Patience. — A Trial of Speed. — Eva. 
— Church and Station. — A Patriarchal Missionary. — Ecclesiastical 
Discipline. — Singular Case of Divorce. — A Night at Eioa 124 



CONTENTS. ix 



CHAPTER X. 

JOURNEY TO WAIALUA. 

Departure from Ewa. — Old Battle-ground. — Lands of the Princess 
Victoria. — The Feudal System. — Reform of the Landed System. — 
Fee-simple Titles. — Necessity of a judicious Taxation. — Off the 
Road. — Extraordinary Feats in Horsemanship. — Arrival at Waia- 
lua. — Mission Station. — Scenery, — How Missionaries extend a Wel- 
come. — Ride to Mokuleia. — The Dairy Business. — Singular Freak 
in a Native's Costume. — Improvement among Natives. — Native 
Church. — Popery and Mormonism. — Spurious Baptisms. — Native 
Cunning. — A novel "Farewell!" Page 135 

CHAPTER XL 

ISLAND OF KAUAI. 
^ FEOM HONOLULU TO KOLOA. 

Flogging Scenes at Sea. — Kauai at Daylight. — Aspect of the Shores. 
— Location of the Island. — Its physical Character. — Koloa and 
Harbor. — Remarkable Caves. — Singular Phenomenon. — Revolting 
offer by a Parent 150 

CHAPTER XII. 

Female Penitentiary. — Character of the Prisoners. — The Jailer. — 
Statistics of Crime. — Wrong Legislation. — An instance of Fanati- 
cism. — Curious Method to obtain Money. — Sugar Plantations. — 
Indigo. — Former attempts to cultivate Silk. — Sunday at Koloa. — 
A Native Preacher. — Specimens of Hawaiian Eloquence. — Liber- 
ality of Native Christians 161 

CHAPTER XIII. 

FROM KOLOA TO LLHUE. 

Uplands and Lowlands. — The " Gap." — A Legend. — Scenery. — Li- 
hue. — Sugar Plantations. — Labor. — Na-wili-wili Harbor and Riv- 
er. — Pleasure Party. — The "Stars and Stripes." — Significant De- 
portment of the Natives. — Remarkable Rock and Cave. — Valley 
of Cascades. — Moonlight. — Lunar Rainbows IT 9 



x CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

FROM LIHUE TO HANALEI. 

"Wailua Village. — Wailua River. — Objects of Superstition. — Strange 
Legends. — Falls of Wailua. — Estate of Kumalu. — Reminiscences 
of a Family. — The Dairy Business. — What sort of Talent is needed. 
— Policy of Government. — Road to Hanalei. — Settlement of Cali- 
fornians. — Traveling on the Sandwich Islands Page 189 

CHAPTER XV. 

Valley of Hanalei. — River. — Harbor. — Coffee Plantations. — Early 
Efforts to cultivate Silk. — Causes of the Failure. — The Spiritual 
versus the Secular. — Capacity of the Soil. — Extraordinary vege- 
table Remains. — Evidences of a remote Antiquity. — Excursions. — 
Storm-stayed. — Fondness of native Women for Dogs. — Delicate 
Appetite. — Mission Station. — Manual-labor School 201 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Visit to the Caves at Haena. — Curiosity of the Natives. — The Caves. 
— Tradition concerning a Chief. — Subterranean Lakes. — Perilous 
Position. — Story of a Traveler. — Singular Effects produced by 
Torchlight. — Native Courage and Native Fears. — Terminus of 
Travel by Land. — A Night at Anahola. — Poi and Bed-fellows 210 

CHAPTER XVII. 

FROM KOLOA TO WAIMEA. 

Loho Nomilu. — Legend concerning Pele. — Comparative Mythology. 
— Novel Method of sounding a Lake. — Noble Specimen of a Ha- 
waiian Woman. — Significancy of Native Names. — Nomilu Salt- 
works. — Battle-ground of Wahi-awa. — Incidents and Results of 
the Battle. — Valley of Hanapepe. — A Relic of civilized Law. — 
Arrival at Waimea 217 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Waimea Village — River — Harbor. — Historical Reminiscences. — 
Charges against Captain Cook. — Visit to an ex-Queen. — A Glance 
at her History. — Russian Fort at Waimea. — Expulsion of the Rus- 
sians. — Missionary Church and Station. — Peculiarities of this Sta- 
tion. — A Sabbath at Waimea. — Missionary Labor. — Practice ver- 
ms Poetry. — The right kind of an Epitaph 227 



CONTENTS. x i 



CHAPTER XIX. 

FROM WAIMEA TO KOLO. 

Volcanic Features. — Tobacco Plantations. — Wild Cotton. — Plains 
and Vegetation. — JVohili, or Sounding Sands. — Probable Theory 
of Sound. — A Night at Kolo. — Proceedings of a Hawaiian Family. 
— Kindness to the Traveler. — Poi-making. — Evening Devotions. 
— Return to Koloa. — Departure from Kauai. — The "Middle Pas- 
sage." — A Tribute to Neptune. — Recent Steam-boat Project. — Its 
Importance and Necessity Page 243 

CHAPTER XX. 

ISLAND OF MOLOKAI. 
FROM HONOLULU TO KALUAAHA. 

Devotions of a Native Crew. — Fondness for Tobacco. — Despotic Stric- 
tures. — Convenience of Native Habits in Traveling. — Kaluaaha 
Mission Station. — Civilization. — Sewing Circles. — Female Cos- 
tume. — System of Education. — Schools. — Influence of Christianity. 
— How it is valued. — A Hawaiian Feast. — A Hawaiian Marriage. 
— Loves of the Hawaiians. — Instance of 255 

CHAPTER XXL 

JOURNEY TO HALAWA. 

Sea-shore Road. — Bullock-riding. — Fondness for Horses. — An In- 
stance of. — Mode of Fishing. — A Hawaiian " Venus." — Scarcity of 
Singing Birds. — Solitude of the Mountains. — Noble Ku-Jcui Grove. 
— Halawa Valley. — Descent. — Cascades.-^-The Valley at Sunset. 
— Cultivation of Taro. — Kindness of a Hawaiian Family. — An 
Evening Repast. — Fastidiousness of a Native Cook. — A Night at 
Halawa. — Kapa Sheets. — Manufacture of Kapa, — Population. — 
Religion. — Morals 269 

CHAPTER XXII. 

JOURNEY TQ THE. PALIS OF KALAE. 

Deserted Villages. — Road over the Mountains. — Ravines. — Cascades. 
— The Palis. — Sublime Prospect. — Plain of Kalaupapa. — District 
of Wai-a-la-la.— rNative Morals. — Licentious Dance. — How to study 
Hawaiian Character. — Deserted Residence. — Broken Resolutions. 



x jj CONTENTS. 



— Unpleasant Lodgings. — A rough Supper. — Fleas and Musqui- 
toes. — * Wailing" for the Sick. — Refuge in a Chapel. — Return to 
former Lodgings. — The Scene changed. — Daylight Page 280 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

ISLAND OF MAUI. 

Lahaina from the Sea. — Lahaina on Shore. — Public Buildings. — 
Palace. — Fort. — Churches. — Houses. — Beer-shops. — "Fourth of 
July" at Lahaina. — Police. — Evils of the Police System. — Harbor. 
— Commerce. — Surf-bathing. — A singular Providence. — Marque- 
san Chief. — Christian Liberality. — Seminary at Lahainaluna. — Its 
Location. — Early History. — Present Condition. — Old Hawaiian 
Gods' , 290 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

FROM LAHAINA TO WAI-LU-KU. 

Crossing the Mountains. — Isthmus of Kula. — Maui formerly two 
Islands. — Village of Wai-ka-pu. — Wai-lu-ku and Valley. — Terrific 
Battle-ground. — Old Battle-ground of Kahului. — Hawaiian " Gol- 
gotha." — A Cranium Hunter. — Curiosity of the Natives. — Modern 
Superstitions. — Doctrine of the Resurrection studied over the 
Bones of Warriors. — Why the Doctrine is difficult to believe 308 

CHAPTER XXV. 

EAST MAUI. 

Makawao. — Sugar Plantations. — Cultivation of Wheat — Indian 
Corn.-r-The Irish Potato. — Agricultural Lands. — Land Monopoly. 
— The Non-taxation System. — Kindness of Foreigners to the Trav- 
eler. — Ascent of Mauna Hale-a-ka-la. — Atmospheric Regions. 
— Unexpected and unwelcome Visitors. — Vastness of the Crater. 
—Sense of Cold!— Splendor of the Sun-light.—" Ossian's" Address 
to the Sun.— View from the Summit of the Crater. — Glory of the 
Clouds. — The Soul's Emotions. — Man immortal. — God omnipo- 
tent # 31>7 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

ISLAND OF HAWAII. 

Trip to Hawaii. — The Schooner Mami-o-ka-wai. — Hawaiian Sailors, 
— Abuse offered to a Native Woman. — An unpleasant. Position. — 



CONTENTS. x iii 



A stormy Sunday. — The snow-capped Mountains of Hawaii. — Ka- 
waihae. — Landing-place at Mahu-kona. — Mode of transporting 
Baggage. — District of Kohala. — Numerous Evidences of ancient 
Population Page 329 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

A Visit to the Heiau of Puuepa. — Accursed Despotisms of Paganism. 
— Wholesale Slaughters.— Testimony of an old Pagan Priest. — Oc- 
ular Demonstration. — Solitude of the Ruins. — Public Works of a 
past Generation. — Graves of a forgotten Race. — Glances at De- 
population. — Causes, Past and Present. — New House of Worship 
at Iole. — Character of Missionaries. — Friends and Foes. — Import- 
ance and Necessity of an impartial Estimate by the Traveler. — 
Nature and Extent of Hostilities 337 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

FROM IOLE TO WAIMEA. 

Solitude of Native Dwellings. — Volcanic Features. — Groves of the 
Ti Plant.— Wild Oats. — Plains of Waimea. — More Evidences of 
Depopulation. — Hawaiian Catacombs. — Byron's Soliloquy on a 
Skull. — Former Method of Interment among the Hawaiians. — 
Abuse of the Dead. — A "Plague of Flies." — Comparison of Natives 
and Foreigners. — Foreigners and Native Wives. — Agriculture. — 
Sugar Plantations. — A genuine "Yankee." — Raising Stock for the 
Market 356 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

JOUUNEY TO THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA. 

Cavernous Formations. — Interview with a genuine " Nimrod." — Saw- 
mills at Hanipoi. — Singing Birds. — Power of Association. — In- 
stances of. — A rough but generous Welcome. — A strange Woman. 
— Ascent of the Mountain. — Forests. — Wild Cattle. — Fruits and 
Flowers. — Deceptions in climbing a volcanic Mountain. — Reach 
the Summit. — Intense Fatigue. — Exquisite Sense of Cold. — Hills 
of Snow. — A Lunch above the Clouds. — Sound. — Large crateri- 
form Lake. — Apparent Formation of the Mountain. — Extinction 
of its Fires. — Absolute Solitude.— View from the Summit. — Solil- 
oquy of Byron's " Manfred." — Descent of the Mountain. — Proposed 
Penance 366 



x fr CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

JOURNEY TO WAI-PIO. 

Forests of Acacia. — Gigantic Ferns. — Swamps. — An Instance of na- 
tive Cruelty. — Valley of Wai-pio. — Descent. — Primitive Character 
of the Inhabitants. — Explorations. — Cascades. — A Bullock carried 
over the Falls. — Fastidiousness of native Appetite. — Population. 
— Agriculture. — Curious Instance of Cupidity. — Eeal Changes. — 
Scenes at an Evening Repast Page 379 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

FROM WAI-PIO TO KA-WAI-HAE. 

Village of Ka-wai-hae. — Another Pagan Temple. — Cause of its Erec- 
tion. — False Predictions. — Moral taught by Paganism. — Ravages 
of the Small-pox. — Solitary Village. — Outrageous Mode of Vac- 
cination. — Preposterous Conduct of the " Board of Health." — In- 
dignation of the Foreign Population. — Testimony of Physicians. — 
Native Quackery. — Terrible Influences of a certain Superstition. 
— Total Defeat of a long-cherished Enterprise 389 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

CONCLUSION. 

Origin of the Sandwich Islanders. — The Theory sustained by Tradi- 
tion. — Habits and Customs, Physical Organization and Language. 
— Their Past and Present Condition : Social, Political, and Relig- 
ious. — Probable Destiny of the Race. — Prospective History of 
Christian Institutions. — Cause for Congratulation. — One Cause of 
a grand Failure.— -The English Language the only best Channel 
of Civilization 397 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

ANNEXATION OF THE GROUP. 

Geographical Position of the Sandwich Islands. — Their Value argued 
from their Position.— Climate.-^Diseases.— Capacity of the Soil.— 
Importance of the Sandwich Islands to the United States Govern- 
ment—Objections considered.— Recent Movements at the Islands. 
—Remonstrance of the British and French Consuls.— Reply of the 
United States Commissioner.— British and French Diplomacy. — 
British and French Dominion. — Faith of European Nations. — 
Reasons for "Annexation." — Its Necessity 425 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 
Portrait of Prince Alexander Liholiho, Heir-apparent -to the 

Crown Frontispiece. 

Native House on the Sandwich Islands 83 

Hawaiian Female Equestrian 86 

Diamond-Head Crater, from East Honolulu, Island of Oahu ... 95 

Punch-Bowl Hill, from the Valley of Nuuanu 99 

Mode of carrying Burdens 117 

Yiew of a Chain of Extinct Volcanoes near Koloa, Island of 

Kauai 155 

Keapaweo Mountain 185 

Falls of Wailua 193 

View of Hanalei Valley 200 

Loko (Lake) Nomilu 218 

Waimea Village, from the Fort 229 

American Mission Church at Waimea 242 

Domestic Utensils and Musical Instruments 249 

Native Pipe and Necklace 256 

Kapa Mallets 279 

Native Female — Mode of Sitting 283 

Native Man — Mode of Sitting 284 

Lahaina, from the Anchorage: Island of Maui 291 

Old Hawaiian Gods 307 

Village of Wai-lu-ku : Maui 311 

Valley of Wai-pio : Island of Hawaii 382 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



CHAPTER I. 

FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO HONOLULU. 

Departure from San Francisco.— A Glance at its History. — Causes 
of the Change. — Its Future. — Tug-boat "Resolute." — Ship nearly 
ashore. — The Rescue. — Once more at Anchor. 

It was a cold, bleak morning — the 22d of the last month 
in 1852 — when the "Sovereign of tlie Seas" containing 
several passengers, weighed anchor and endeavored to escape 
from the Bay of San Francisco. It was with a feeling of 
mingled pride and satisfaction that I paced her decks ; for 
the queenly vessel was steering for strange climes, where the 
sun was more genial, and the winds less chilly. 

On leaving San Francisco, one is forcibly impressed with 
the proud position the city occupies. The history of its past 
and present condition is singularly impressive ; and the im- 
mense rapidity with which this youthful emporium has sprung 
into existence, constitutes a miracle even in modern industry 
and progress. To those who have been accustomed to regard 
it, only three or four years since, as a small village with a 
few adobe houses, and a sparse and squalid population, it is 
a just cause of wonder. Every where the sounds of the 
artisan's hammer, and the rushing of the various vehicles of 
commerce, are indicative of untiring perseverance. Even to 
those who have witnessed the entire progress of San Fran- 
cisco, so rapid has been the transformation, that the past 
seems more like the bright, fairy-like visions of an Eastern 
tale than a tangible reality. After repeated conflagrations, 
that swept away, in a few hours, what, in older cities and 



]_g SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



states, would have been deemed the labor and accumulations 
of many years, and of millions in value, it has sprung up, 
Phoenix-like, from its own ashes ; and every time it has been 
hurled to the ground, like the fabled Antaeus, it has gathered 
fresh strength and developed new resources. 

Not only in a physical point of view has San Francisco 
made such rapid strides onward : the moral progress of the 
city has kept a corresponding pace. Peace and order prevail. 
The Sabbath's repose is secured by just and practicable laws 
— perhaps more so than in many of the older cities of the 
Union. In no place on earth does Education — that grand 
Palladium of our liberties — that firm basis on which our Re- 
public reposes — find a warmer advocacy or a better support 
than there. The heaven-kissing spires of temples erected 
to the worship of the Most High, every where springing up, 
as if by magic, afford sufficient proof that the modern order 
of the San Franciscans are not all worshipers at the shrine 
of Mammon. 

It would be needless to recapitulate the events that have 
produced this splendid transformation. The most striking 
feature of all is the medium through which the change has 
emanated. It is well understood that efforts were made under 
the old Spanish regime to spread civilization over the territory 
of California, and that these efforts were in progress during 
a period of more than two centuries. An oppressive hierarchy 
had done all that was deemed advisable for the benefit of the 
Indian neophytes ; but the aboriginal races yet retained their 
nomadic habits, cherishing a deeply-rooted contempt for the 
numerous innovations against their savage policy. If any of 
them had been taught to appreciate the doctrines of their new 
teachers, that appreciation was based strictly on self-interest ; 
for they followed them for the sake of temporal gain. If the 
old Spaniards or the modern Mexicans had discovered the 
immense wealth that has rendered the territory the veritable 
"El Dorado" about which so many have dreamed and so 
much has been fabled in past days, then some Spanish or 
Mexican historian might have chronicled their own deeds on 



THE FUTURE OF SAN FRANCISCO. \Q 

that great theatre of modern enterprise. But during the cen- 
turies of misrule by an inglorious government, and of darkness 
amid which a numerous race groveled, the great transforming 
agency was unknown. It remained for War to pave the way 
to annexation of the then almost worthless and unknown 
territory ; and it subsequently remained for Anglo-American 
mind and enterprise to mould the mighty influences to which 
the discovery of vast wealth gave birth. It would be super- 
fluous even to glance at the vast exodus of all nations of men 
to that land of gold. It is sufficient to say, that in no nation 
on earth do genius and energy put forth strides so mighty as 
in California, and especially in San Francisco ; and it may be 
affirmed, with safety, that no community on earth can boast 
abler men. So much for the agency through which this great 
change has been achieved, and for the benefits that emanate 
from the change itself. 

Judging of the past, the future of San Francisco is seen 
with a sort of prophetic vision. Its noble bay — capable of 
floating the world's navy — is seen covered with the war and 
the merchant vessels of all nations ; the streets, extended 
miles beyond their present length, are beheld teeming with the 
almost countless thousands of a busy population. In a future 
period, and at no great distance of time, such luxury, wealth, 
intelligence, and magnificence will centre in San Francisco, as 
a city, as have never been surpassed in any city on the globe. 
At that period, the state will be in advance of any state in the 
Union; for it will be the great depot between the East and 
"West, and will sit empress over the North Pacific, sending 
its mighty pulsations back to the Orient, whence civilization 
originally sprung. 

This digression was passing in my own mind while the 
gallant little steam-tug "Resolute" was towing our brave ves- 
sel down the waters of the bay ; and although such a digres- 
sion has not the slightest connection with any of the Poly- 
nesian Islands, it is perfectly natural to a person who has spent 
any length of time in San Francisco, and is about leaving it 
for a distant port. 



20 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

The " Resolute" had already towed us to the north side of 
the Bay, and was on her way back to the city. A smart 
breeze, that induced us to button up our overcoats, was waft- 
ing along our gallant ship at the speed of ten or eleven miles 
an hour. We were about bidding a short adieu to the entrance 
of the Bay, for the ship was on her last " tack." Many were 
the remarks made concerning the islands to which we were 
going. A few of the passengers had visited them before. 
One of our number was a gentleman who displayed some 
facetiousness. He asserted " that the people on the Sandwich 
Islands never died : on the contrary, they lived to such an 
advanced age, that they dried up, and the wind blew them 
away !" 

But his pleasantries were speedily brought to a close. The 
" Sovereign" was steering very near the base of Point Boneta, 
when suddenly the wind left her sails, and she was swept, by 
a heavy tidal current, to the middle of the channel. The 
monster clipper was too lightly manned ; and before any thing 
could be done efficiently to arrest the danger that threatened 
her, she was within a few yards of the rocks that lay strewn 
directly under the guns of Fort Lobos. There was something 
horrible in the prospect of going ashore upon that beach, where 
several valuable cargoes and splendid vessels had previously 
been dashed all to pieces. The " Sovereign," which a few 
moments before was worth more than one hundred thousand 
dollars, was apparently worthless in that critical moment. 
Nothing but an immediate plunge of the anchor saved her, 
her cargo, and her passengers ; and even then, every surge of 
the strong waves pressed her nearer to the shore, so that her 
rudder thumped the sunken rocks. In addition to all this, 
there was a strong probability of a rough night. 

But as night was rapidly approaching, and hope expiring, 
a favorable breeze sprung up, and the flood tide set in from 
the ocean. Taking the advantage of so favorable a state of 
things, the cable was slipped, and we left the breakers with- 
out having received any material injury. It was a pleasant 
thing thus to be rescued from the very jaws of destruction, 



ONCE MORE AT ANCHOR. %\ 

especially when every thing seemed to have conspired against 
us. 

It was not until we had returned some distance up the Bay, 
and were once more at anchor, that we could realize the 
danger from which we had just escaped. The sun went down 
to his repose angry and red, and the skies were gathering 
blackness. While we cherished an unspeakable gratitude for 
our deliverance, we could not help glancing at the stormy 
heaven ; and the words of Moore, in his Fire Worshipers, 
exactly suited us : 

" The day is lowering — stilly black 
Sleeps the grim wave, while heaven's rack, 
Dispersed and wild, 'twixt earth and sky 
Hangs like a shattered canopy. 
There's not a cloud in that blue plain 

But tells of storms to come or past ; 
Here, flying loosely as the mane 

Of a young war-horse in the blast ; 
There, rolled in masses dark and swelling, 
As proud to be the thunder's dwelling I 
While some, already burst and riven, 
Seem melting down the verge of heaven ; 
As though the infant storm had rent 

The mighty womb that gave it birth, 
And, having swept the firmament, 

Was now in fierce career for earth." 



CHAPTER II. 

Daylight and Storm. — Weigh Anchor. — First Night at Sea. — The 
next Morning. — Stormy "Petrel." — Impressive Moral. — Dinner 
during a Gale. — The Ocean in a Storm. — A Child born at Sea. — 
"New-year's" Day. — Sunset in the Tropics. — A Calm on the Ocean. 
— "Land-ho!" — Landmarks for the Mariner. — Farewell to the 
"Sovereign." 

During the preceding night we had rode safely at anchor. 
The next morning, however, dawned on a most uninviting 
scene. It was blowing a gale ; and the heavy rains and mists 



22 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

so obscured the Bay, that we could see only a short distance 
from our anchorage. The winds were peculiarly chilling and 
unpleasant, as they swept down from the snow-clad summit 
of Monte Rapael, the northern limit of the Golden Gate. 
Most sincerely did we long to be on our way to another clime, 
where we might escape the cold and relentless frowns of 
winter. 

About noon of the 23d that wish was gratified. The storm- 
clouds began to disperse. The winds suddenly moderated. A 
slight shower of rain passed over us, reflecting an iris of sin- 
gular beauty. Glorious emblem of hope to the earth and 
man ! It cheered every spirit, and infused new strength into 
every heart, and we regarded it as an omen of an auspicious 
voyage. 

By 1 P.M. we weighed anchor once more. The tide was 
running out, and, taking advantage of it, we glided out of the 
Bay. Before sunset our pilot was discharged, and we stood 
out to sea. Night overtook us just as the surf-beaten shores 
of California sunk behind the wave. The sea-fowls had re- 
tired to their nests in the cliffs, and the rays of the distant 
light-house had faded away in the dim distance. It was now, 
with the wide Pacific stretched out before her, that our splen- 
did vessel displayed her true character as a sea-boat. She 
seemed to feel a sort of consciousness of her duty : 
" She walked the waters like a thing of life ;" 
or she seemed more like an impatient steed struggling to escape 
from her rider. To her the foam-crested billows appeared to 
be familiar playthings, for she dashed them aside, and proudly 
defied their strength and fury. 

After having remained for some time on shore — no matter 
to what extent a person has previously traveled by water — 
there is always something inexpressibly solemn and spirit- 
moving in the Jlrst night at sea. The land is gone — as though 
it had sunk beneath the bosom of the insatiate deep. Dark- 
ness obscures the face of the mighty waters, and even the sky ; 
but anxious faces come peering through the gloom. The soft 
tones of the last "farewell," with its deep and thrilling im- 



THE NEXT MORNING. 23 

port ; the warm grasp of the friendly hand, as if loth to part 
with your own — these, and many other things, rush vividly 
back on the wings of memory, and you are constrained to 
look back and converse mentally with much that is past. 
Heaven reveals the gems that burn on its portals, and you 
seem to drink in, by a spiritual communion, the eternity of 
their glory and their years. The moon, perhaps, mounts her 
chariot, and sheds a serene light over the lap of the ocean. 
Then a dark, fugitive cloud rushes past, as if to dispute her 
rightful empire. Suddenly you realize, or try to realize, the 
fact that the vast, and hoary, and eternal deep is before you. 
You are buoyed up above its dark caverns, where things of 
beauty and slimy monsters take refuge from the scrutiny of 
man. You are on the brink of the unseen world; you are 
close to the very presence of the Unsearchable ; you are 
within less than a stone's throw of that goal — the grave ! — 
which has entombed the long list of the defunct of Adam's 
progeny; and there you are kept from a penetration of all 
that makes mankind true scholars and philosophers by the 
thickness of a single plank ! _ Perchance a storm may rush 
forth from its hiding-place at the hour of midnight, and 
awaken the deep in its fearful power. The Infinite him- 
self leaves his foot-prints on the heaving billow, or he moves 
past on the wings of the tempest. It is then, and there, that 
a man feels his own utter helplessness. Night and storm on 
the wide world of waters is the best school in which a man 
learns to read his own nothingness. Your sleep, even if you 
should escape the too common lot of voyagers, sea-sickness, is, 
in all probability, any thing but that which merits the name 
of sleep. There is a sort of sympathy in your mind with 
winds and waves, and also with beloved faces that come 
peering in upon you. A great lesson to the contemplative 
mind is the first night at sea. 

There is scarcely any association that is more saddening 
than the morning that succeeds the first night on the ocean. 
On ascending the deck, and seeing nothing but sky and ocean, 
a sort of solitude thrills the voyager's bosom; and he feels, 



24 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

for a time at least, as though his companionship and all his 
interests had fled back to the shores he has just left. As he 
gazes across the deep, as if to catch a glimpse of the land, the 
solitude is unbroken ; but his eye becomes more reconciled to 
the scene before him ; his spirit drinks in the imposing gran- 
deur of that most magnificent of all elements — the ocean. 
Our first morning at sea was one that seemed to wield a spell 
over the entire being. Not a cloud obscured the sky. The 
ascending sun shed an almost supernal glory on the multitude 
of waves that danced around the ship, as though they were 
thrilled with life. It is amid such scenes, and with the bound- 
less deep before him, that a man feels as if he were impelled 
onward by some mysterious destiny. He is not certain at what 
shore the vessel may arrive. Amid the uncertainties of nauti- 
cal life, he may steer for the port of destination, and reach it ; 
or some relentless tempest may wreak its wrath upon the 
strong-ribbed craft, and leave her a floating wreck, at the 
mere mercy of currents and winds, to find her way — heaven 
only knows where. It is no wonder, then, that a man under 
such circumstances feels as though he had shaken hands with 
Destiny. Nor is the " self-exiled Harold" the only man who 
has said, 

" Once more upon the waters ! yet once more ! 
And the waves bound beneath me as a steed 
That knows his rider. Welcome to their roar ! 
Swift be their guidance, wheresoe'er it lead! 
Though the strained mast should quiver as a reed, 
And the rent canvas, fluttering, strew the gale, 
Still I must on ; for I am as a reed 
Flung from the rock, on Ocean's foam to sail, 
Where'er the surge may sleep, the tempest's breath prevail." 

This has been the language of thousands — it will be the sen- 
timent of thousands more. 

Over the crests of the wild waves, or between them, in the 
liquid valleys, the petrel was speeding on her pinions in search 
of food. I could not help feeling a sort of sympathy with that 
bird. The ocean was that creature's home — the wide world 
was mine. Death had laid low the loving and the loved ; 



THE STORMY PETREL— A MORAL. 25 

and, having little or nothing to attach me to any particular 
spot, I felt free to roam. 

And yet that lone bird, skimming the deep on rapid wing, 
suggested a moral that I had never properly learned in the 
sanctum. Without any apparently fixed aim, and wandering 
strictly in obedience to its own instincts, the end of its exist- 
ence — the preservation of its own life by the securing of food 
— was fully answered. In all probability, its mate may have 
been annihilated by the hand of some reckless fisherman ; but 
it seemed to make no difference. On, on it went. It had been 
cast on the rude lap of the ocean ; and yet, before it broke 
forth from its ovarian prison, its food had been scattered on the 
wave of the ocean by the ever-careful hand of a Supreme Prov- 
idence. To be found, that food had to be sought ; and al- 
though it appeared to wander as if only by instinct, its Maker 
was its guide. And is it not so with man ? Before he comes 
into the world, good and evil crowd the pathway of his life. 
To secure the highest good, he needs but to seek it, and it will 
be found. Man may progress through a thousand different 
channels without any apparent design, but most assuredly he 
will reach the goal that has been marked out for him ; nor 
can he avoid it. If the petrel wanders over the wave, not for- 
tuitously, how unspeakably great is the amount of good that 
millions lose by discarding the guidance and protection of the 
Universal Father ! 

If our first morning at sea was one of surpassing loveliness, 
the next was of a very different character. Soon after sun- 
rise, the skies were obscured with heavy storm-clouds. A 
strong wind was blowing from the southwest, which by noon 
had increased to a gale. At the regular hour dinner was 
served. And now came the trial, so far as the inner man was 
concerned. Those who have never left their Persian carpets, 
nor been served at table from any other than their own rose- 
wood side-boards, can form no idea of the ludicrous and em- 
barrassing scenes that crowd around a dinner-table during a 
storm at sea. Ever} 7 passenger on board the " Sovereign" 
seemed to think himself a nautical hero ; at least, he strongly 

B 



26 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

objected to its being supposed that, before dinner was over, he 
would be compelled to pay old Neptune a tribute. We sat 
down to our repast with a fixed determination to do it justice. 
Those occupying the " weather side" of the table had to lean 
back in order to prevent themselves from tumbling over it, 
while those sitting to " leeward" held fast to the table to aid 
them in retaining their seats ; for, every time the sea struck 
the ship, she would roll her lee bulwarks nearly under water. 
During such a state of affairs, one may think himself fortunate 
if a tumbler of water does not come rolling into his dish of 
soup, or that he does not lose his soup entirely. Another swal- 
lows a mouthful of food, and, feeling very squeamish in the 
gastrological regions, hurries out on deck to avoid a humilia- 
ting display of his own weakness. Another chases his fugi- 
tive viands into his opposite neighbor's plate, where they be- 
come so commingled that a just and original division is im- 
possible. A third holds on to the table, as if fearful of going 
to the bottom. A fourth keeps his eye on some favorite dish, 
holding himself in readiness to arrest its progress in case it 
should slide away from its place. A fifth — but, alas ! it is 
impossible to review a list of some score or more of passengers, 
lor I should be compelled to include myself in the catalogue ; 
and the reader's patience might be wearied in the perusal, and 
himself cherish a profound disgust, in the abstract, of the no- 
blest element ever created. 

The merriment that had its origin in the scenes just de- 
scribed was soon terminated. Our repast was hardly ended, 
when " all hands" were summoned to shorten what little can- 
vas was spread ; for the gale, that had been increasing all the 
morning, was now at its height. On going out upon deck, 
the scene before us was one of such overwhelming sublimity, 
that language refuses to do its office. Even Longinus himself 
would have failed there. On no element or object in creation 
have more elaborate descriptions been lavished than on the 
ocean when in a storm. Poets have implored the aid of every 
muse, and bestowed upon it the boldest and most finished 
verse. Painters, too, long accustomed to ocean scenery in all 



THE OCEAN IN A STORM. 27 

its variety, have employed all their talent to set it forth on 
canvas. With a singular vividness, they have pictured the 
foam on the summit of the breaking billow, and the imagina- 
tion has almost caught the reverberations of its savage thun- 
der. But all falls infinitely below the living reality. The 
matchless phenomenon must be seen to be realized, for it can 
be realized only by being seen. The huge waves heaving, 
rolling, surging, sweeping, like spirits of vengeance terribly 
struggling for the mastery over each other, and over the thun- 
dering breath of the storm-king, until they rise higher and yet 
higher, constitute a reality that no imagination can cherish, 
and no pen or pencil portray. The spectator becomes a mere 
child in his views and sympathies ; he feels mute before this 
amazing display of the Almighty's strength. Of all the unin- 
spired men that have ever lived, no one has so accurately de- 
scribed the scene as that great Anglo-Saxon poet, Shakspeare : 

" For do but stand upon the foaming shore, 
The chiding billows seem to pelt the clouds ; 
The wind-shaked surge, with high and monstrous mane, 
Seems to cast water on the burning Bear, 
And quench the guards of the ever-fixed pole. 
I never did like molestation view 
On th' enchafed flood." — Othello, Act II., sc. i. 

The gale passed away, however, without any serious injury. 
The figure-head of our noble clipper was a " Neptune," finely 
carved. Whether the fabled god was enraged at the invasion 
of his element by a modern and inanimate deity, it is not for 
me to decide ; but our Neptune was deprived of one entire 
arm by the violence of the storrrv Bipeds were not the only 
victims to sea-sickness : there were passengers of the quadru- 
ped species that shared these difficulties. The latter com- 
prised a large grizzly bear, a rainbow bear, a wolf, a kayota, 
a wild cat, and a leopard cat — all destined for exhibition in 
the Crystal Palace at New York. And probably the elder of 
the two Bruins suffered more than all the rest of his com- 
panions. 

28th. Rainy, squally, and adverse winds all day. Latitude 



28 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

32° 50' ; longitude 135° 39' at noon. As an instance of hu- 
man progress, a child was born to-day. His birth was prem- 
ature. His life was given him nearly at the cost of his moth- 
er's. In honor to our brave vessel, not less than the event, 
we named him the " Young Sovereign.'' 

The close of '52 was very stormy ; the opening of '53 was 
no better, excepting that we were favored with a fair wind. 
A continent and a wide expanse of ocean separated us from 
our best earthly friends ; but we forgot neither them nor the 
day itself. True, they were enjoying their snug parlors, or 
they were making or receiving " calls" while we were dash- 
ing on like a race-horse, before a wind that heaved the sea 
like mountains. But, like all true adventurers, we resolved 
to make the best of our position, and drink a few toasts in 
commemoration of the day and our friends. Preliminaries 
having been adjusted, our sentiments were, 

A happy new- year to the absent ones : May they have 
no cause to regret the flight of time. Although personally 
absent, we are present with them in spirit. 

Our Country ! May it ever be the beacon of Republican 
Empire — the asylum of the oppressed, the land of the free. 
May the tree of Liberty there flourish until its branches shall 
shelter all nations, and until time shall expire. 

The Sandwich Islands : May every thing that tends to 
embarrass their financial resources, and contract their policy, 
be speedily and forever removed ; and may they yet add an- 
other star in our flag of freedom. 

The " Sovereign of the Seas," and the infant " Sover- 
eign :" May the former weather the storms in safety, until 
she shall reach her port of destination. May the latter, who 
breathed his first breath on the ocean, be safely guided over 
life's sea, until he is safe beyond the region of storms and 
danger. 

But New- Year's day was buried in the flight of time, and 
we were rapidly approaching the tropics. The weather was 
more genial ; the sky more serene ; the winds lighter, but 
more steady. Much has been said about an ocean sunset ; 



SUNSET NEAR THE TROPICS. 29 

but, like a picture of a sea-storm, every thing falls far below 
the original. It was not, however, until we neared the Isl- 
ands, that we were favored with the magnificent picture, or 
reality rather. The horizon was as clear as crystal, while a 
fringe of clouds, gorgeously painted by the sun-light, hung 
over it like a canopy of fretted gold. As the God of day was 
sinking in the calm blue wave, a flood of golden light streamed 
across the ocean ; while, in the region of his descent, the little 
wavelets seemed to kiss the lustre from his burning brow. 
It seemed as if those waves had flown from the Empyrean 
itself; as if they were peopled with beings beautiful and 
bright. There is something soft and bewitching in such a 
scene as this. It no longer remains a wonder that so much 
should have been said and sung about the evening glories of 
the God of day. When Plato uttered his great ideal of the 
Unknown, he intimated that the sun was but the shadow of 
His ineffable glory. So millions of our race, feeling the bound- 
less yearnings of their own immortal nature, have adored and 
revered the ever-glorious orb as the best material representa- 
tive of the immaterial God. 

The night that followed that sunset scene was one of calm 
and soothing splendor. The bosom of the sky was all cloud- 
less, and countless multitudes of night's sentinels peered forth 
in all their glory. Before the hour of midnight was chronicled 
by the crew on duty, there was not a single ripple on the sur- 
face of the sea. All was like a vast ocean of glass spread out 
before us. The horizon was as imperceptible as if it mingled 
in the vast ocean of space above us It seemed as though 
one could almost hear the music of the spheres as they sent 
their echoes through the boundless fields of ether. Immortal 
luminaries ! What is the character of those beings by whom 
ye are peopled, and what their employ ? Does death ever 
thin their ranks, and sweep, with relentless wrath, youth and 
beauty to the grave ? Does war desolate your abodes ? Does 
care or pain ever mar your peace and comfort ? Or are you 
immortal and happy ; happy, because sinless ? How many 
a man seeks for the highest good, as he tries to lay the hand 



30 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

of his faith on the throne of the universe ; and yet, as he bows 
himself to the earth, with drops of agony on his brow, and 
with a keen anxiety to find what he seeks — a tangible evi- 
dence of the existence of the Supreme — how often has his 
very soul been shaken with distressing doubts, and reason 
nearly tottered on her throne ? But when he looked up into 
the serene bosom of such a night as I have described, and 
glanced from cause to effect, his doubts fled before conviction. 

Jan. 15th. At daylight this morning we were awakened 
from our slumbers by the cry of "Land-ho /" On going out 
on deck, the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Oahu especially, 
were distinctly visible. 

At noon we were steering for the southeast point of Oahu. 
The whole shore forming the southeastern extremity of the 
island has an appearance of absolute desolation. It retains 
the remains of several very ancient craters. The two chief 
landmarks are Capes Makapuu and Leahi. But the latter is 
the most prominent. It has an elevation of several hundred 
feet, and is seen at a distance of several leagues. By day or 
1 ight it affords an unmistakable guide to the mariner who may 
be steering his vessel for the port of Honolulu, nine miles be- 
yond it, in a northwestern direction. It would seem as if the 
storms of ages have swept over these shattered monuments of 
nature. 

The desire to get on shore is always varied, in its intensity, 
by the length of a voyage. There may have been many pri- 
vations and embarrassments during that voyage, and many a 
wish may have been cherished that the ship was at the port 
of her destination ; but the moment of parting from her, and 
from your fellow-passengers, does come. That parting is a 
miniature of the world. Every passenger goes his own way, 
and pursues his own business ; and although strong friend- 
ships may have been created and cherished during the trip, 
who shall say when the parties about to separate may meet 
again ? These are the associations that induce sensitive minds 
to leave their best farewell to the vessel they are leaving ; and 
thus it was we left our own with the " Sovereign of the Seas." 



HONOLULU, PAST AND PRESENT. ; ] 



CHAPTER III. 



ISLAND OF OAHU. HONOLULU. 



Location of Honolulu. — Honolulu, Past and Present. — Harbor. — 
Coral Reefs. — Commerce. — Palace of Kamehameiia III. — A Glance 
at the Monarch. — His Successor proclaimed. — Royal Soirees. — Ha- 
waiian Parliament. 

The word Honolulu is of Hawaiian^ origin, and comes 
from Jiono, the back of the neck, and lulu, shelter from the 
winds. The term is rather absolute. Whatever its import 
may once have been, certainly it can not now signify a place 
that is sheltered; for the town is almost constantly exposed 
to the fierce south winds that come in from the ocean, not 
less than to the heavy northeast trades that sweep down the 
Nuuanu valley. The location, however, is exceedingly pleas- 
ant. Its position is defined on the chart of the group hi Ion. 
158° 1' W. from Greenwich7 lat. 21° 18' N. A part of the 
town is built on a plain of great beauty, that stretches away 
for several miles to the eastward. The plain itself affords 
pasture for hundreds of cattle. It is bounded on the east by 
the old extinct crater of Diamond Head ; on the north, by 
the highly picturesque valleys of Manoa, Nuuanu, Pauoa, 
Makiki, and Palolo ; on the south, by massive coral reefs 
that extend for some distance into the sea. From Honolulu 
is distinctly seen the ridge of mountains called Konahuanui, 
that bisects the island. This chain, when cloud-capped, as it 
frequently is, assumes an aspect of great sublimity. 

Honolulu is the largest and wealthiest town on the group : 
it is the commercial emporium, the seat of government. Al- 
though its existence as a town can scarcely date back to an 
earlier period than 1823, and considering that its location is 
so far removed from continental energy, it bears an impress 

* " Hawaiian Islands" is the official term for the Sandwich group. 



32 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

of progress that is truly astonishing to a visitor. The physi- 
cal condition of Honolulu, past and present, affords an ample 
comment on the unity maintained between cause and effect ; 
and that cause was the transforming influence which a refined 
civilization ever wields, when judiciously applied, over the 
habits and faculties of barbaric races. Before the harbor was 
discovered, Honolulu was nothing more than a small village 
of grass-thatched houses ; and the village of Waikiki, five 
miles to the eastward, was the place in which the monarch 
of Oahu resided. For several years after vessels had begun 
to touch at this port, there was little improvement visible, 
while the native population were clad in scarcely any other 
garment than what Nature had furnished for them ; and 
when improvement marched forward, the dwellings and store- 
houses of the principal foreigners were composed of adobes. 
Before 1820, one or two merchants had stationed themselves 
there; but their influence over native character for good 
amounted to nothing. There was not a native, from the 
monarch to the meanest of his subjects, and throughout the 
entire archipelago, who owned a single page of printed mat- 
ter, much less could he read or write his own name. Every 
chronicle was orally made, and it became a tradition. 

But things have changed since then ; and in no modern 
community on earth — San Francisco alone excepted — have 
affairs, in general, experienced a more decided transformation. 
It must be remembered, however, that Honolulu is an island- 
community ; and progress on islands is usually slow and un- 
stable. In 1838, the group had so far lifted its head from the 
mists of barbarism as to be recognized as one of the commer- 
cial nations of the earth. * In the course of these pages, such 

* In the year 1837, the exports from the Sandwich Islands, through 
the Custom-house at Honolulu, amounted to about $197,900. 

In 1838, the press at Honolulu issued two native newspapers. One 
was entitled Kumu Hawaii (Hawaiian Teacher), a semi-monthly peri- 
odical, established in 1834. Circulation, 3500 copies. The other was 
termed the Kumu Kamalii (Children's Teacher), a monthly publica- 
tion, established in 1837. Circulation, 4000 copies. 



THE HARBOR. 33 



comments will be made as" will illustrate the condition of 
Honolulu in 1853. 

The harbor is one of the best in the Pacific Ocean, and is 
readily accessible to vessels drawing not more than twenty- 
four feet of water. It afibrds a commodious anchorage for at 
least two hundred ships, and is well defended against the 
action of the sea by a massive coral reef. Instances have 
occurred, however, during the blowing of the northeast trades, 
of vessels having been torn from their anchorage, and drifted 
to the opposite side of the harbor, where they have been 
arrested by a thick bank of mud lining the inside of the reef, 
from which they have been easily recovered, without sustain- 
ing any material injury. Vessels have often been wrecked 
on the reef outside the harbor ; but when good pilotage is 
secured, their safe entry to a good anchorage can be guaran- 
teed. The importance and character of the harbor may be 
estimated in view of the large number of vessels that annually 
enter it. In 1824, the whole number of vessels, from all 
nations, that touched at Honolulu, did not exceed one hundred 
and three. In 1852, the total number of vessels that called 
there was 1iYe hundred and eighty-five. This gradual and 
steady increase of shipping is a criterion from which may be 
augured the future prosperity of that interesting and commo- 
dious port.^ 

The Hawaiian Spectator, a quarterly publication in the English 
language. 

The Sandwich Island Gazette and Journal of Commerce, a weekly 
newspaper in English. 

There were ten other publications in the Hawaiian language, 
amounting in their aggregate to a circulation of 114,000 copies. — 
Vide Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., No. II., Art. IX. 

* From the year 1824 to 1852 inclusive, 5016 vessels, of every 
tonnage and class, and from all nations, have entered the port of 
Honolulu. They may be arranged as follows : 

Whalers 2886 

Merchantmen 1992 

Ships of war 138 

Total 5016 

B 2 



34 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

The coral reefs, stretching out from the shore some distance 
into the ocean, are of great value. A very large portion of 
their surface is left dry at low tide. From these reefs the 
materials that compose the best and most public buildings in 
the town are procured, simply by hewing them out with axes 
while in a wet state. It has been estimated that these reefs 
fronting the town contain materials that would build a city 
capable of containing 150,000 inhabitants. 

The commerce of Honolulu embraces a large variety of 
exports and imports, such as are mostly used by civilized 
nations. To the energetic whalemen who call there — many 
of them twice a year — to recruit their stores, the prosperity 
of the port is mainly indebted, and on them the success of 
commercial finances for the nation mainly depends. If those 
men were to withdraw their vessels from the islands, it would 
be the greatest calamity the government could at this moment 
experience. It was to this class of men that the eloquent 
Burke referred in his " Speech on American Affairs" in 1774 : 

" While we follow them among the tumbling mountains 
of ice, and behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen 
recesses of Hudson's Bay and Davis's Straits- — while we are 
looking for them beneath the arctic circle, we hear that they 
have pierced into the opposite region of polar cold. * * * 
No sea but what is vexed with their fisheries — no climate 
that is not witness of their toils. Neither the perseverance 
of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and 
firm sagacity of English enterprise, ever carried this most 
perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has 
been pursued by this recent people — a people who are still in 
the gristle, and not hardened into manhood!" 

And yet the men that navigate this fleet of vessels are not 

By a national division of arrivals, it will be seen that a large majority 
of these vessels, during this period, were American; thus: 

Of the whalers 2494 were American. 

Of the merchantmen GOO " 

Of the ships of war 32 

Total 3126 



«« << 



COMMERCE y£j 



properly appreciated by many officials belonging to the Ha- 
waiian government. The existing marine laws are oppressive 
It was as late as the annual convention of the Hawaiian Par- 
liament, in the spring of 1852, that a strenuous effort was 
made in the House of Nobles to annihilate the last liberties 
of the sailor. To the honor of the young Prince Liholiho, 
that short-sighted measure was thrown aside. On this theme, 
the language of Hon. R. C. Wyllie, the king's Minister of For- 
eign Relations, is explicit. In glancing at the commerce of 
the islands, and at their dependence on whalers, he says : 

"But, even were the consumption much less, it is obvious 
that the prosperity of these islands has depended, and does 
depend, mainly upon the whale ships that annually flock to 
their ports, many of them coming twice a year. Were the 
whale fishery to fall off, as seems in some measure to be the 
case, or were the vessels engaged in it to abandon these islands 
for some others in this ocean, or for ports on the Main, the 
Sandwich Islands would relapse into their primitive insignifi- 
cance. The government seems to be aware of this ; for, as I 
have shown in the notes to my table of the 25th March, pub- 
lished in the "Friend" of the 1st instant, there are exceptions 
in favor of whalers both in the duties and port-dues. My 
only doubt is whether these exceptions have been carried far 
enough. I incline to the belief that whale ships should be 
exempted from all port-dues, and that the police regulations 
toward sailors ought to be the most liberal that the mainte- 
nance of public order will permit."^ 

This language was uttered several years since, but it has 
been signally disregarded. The commerce of the islands might 
be increased to almost any extent ; but the same want of fore- 
thought that has endeavored to originate oppressive laws to- 
ward seamen flings a blight upon the most important branches 
of native industry. Through a range of several years past the 
imports have greatly exceeded the exports.! The same policy, 
or want of policy rather, materially affected the finances of so 



* Published in the "Friend," Honolulu, July, 1844. 
f See Appendix No. I. 



36 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

small a nation as the Sandwich Islands^ during the financial 
year ending in 1852. But, despite numerous restrictive sys- 
tems, it can not be denied that commerce mainly has imparted 
to Honolulu, not less than to the group of islands, their present 
prosperity ; and it may be safely predicted that the commerce 
of the islands is yet in its infancy. 

Leaving commerce to itself for a time, let us pay a visit to 
the abode of the Hawaiian king, Kamehameha III. It is de- 
nominated the " palace." To a person who has ever visited 
any of the abodes of European sovereigns, such a term would 
at once convey an idea of regal magnificence ; but the resi- 
dence of the Hawaiian monarch produces nothing that is su- 
perfluous, or even splendid. On the contrary, every thing 
about it is plain, even to plebeianism, and induces a visitor to 
think that he may be treading the apartments of a chief rath- 
er than the palace of a sovereign. The grounds on which it 
stands cover between two and three acres ; and are inclosed 
with a heavy wall of rough coral. A visitor enters on the 
south side, between lodges occupied by sleepy sentinels. A 
small but beautiful grove of trees wave their stately foliage 
on either side of the path leading up to the royal apartments, 
and their cool shade reminds one of the groves of the Acad- 
emy and the Lyceum, where so many of the old masters read, 
studied, and rambled. A few steps bring you in front of the 
palace proper. It has a very simple, rustic appearance. The 
walls are composed of coral procured from the reefs along the 
shore of the harbor. The ground-plan covers an area of sev- 
enty-four feet by forty-four. The building is a story and a 
half high. A noble piazza, eight or ten feet wide, and raised 
a few feet above the ground, entirely surrounds the building. 
The chief apartment is the one in which the king holds his 
levees. In the centre of the eastern wall of the apartment 
stood the chair of state. Its unpretending aspect led me to 
invest it rather with republican simplicity than monarchical 
aristocracy. Several well-executed paintings hung on the 
walls. They represented the then ruling monarch, Kameha- 

* Sec Appendix No. II. 



A GLANCE AT THE MONARCH. 37 

meha III. ; LU10UI10, or KaxMehameha II. ; Kekauluhoi, the 
late Premier ; and a full-length portrait of Louis Philippe, 
Kins: of the French. On a large centre-table were arranged 
several diminutive but exceedingly fine pieces of statuary, 
presents from the King of Denmark. 

On the right of the main building, in a detached form, stood 
the private apartments of the monarch ; on the left, those of 
his queen. They were framed buildings, sustained on base- 
ments, having walls of coral, and looking very much like ru- 
ral cottages erected for the mere object of economy. 

Such is the residence of the Hawaiian monarch ! But, 
plain as it is, it is invested with a splendor to which Kame- 
hameha the Great was an utter stranger, for his palace was 
a house thatched all round ivith grass ! Around the abode 
of the present king there are no haughty nobles to dart their 
withering glances at the stranger, no bristling bayonets to ward 
off the lover of the curious or the ancient. Every thing is 
calm and serene. It is just such a place as European sover- 
eigns, when the cares of empire oppress them, may sigh after, 
and never obtain. Without doubt, the Sandwich Island king 
is infinitely happier than Nicholas of Russia, surrounded as 
he is by his mighty armies, his immense navy, his glittering 
sycophants, and his gorgeous capital. 

Having hastily sketched the palace of the Hawaiian king, 
let us glance at the monarch himself. In his personal appear- 
ance he is tall, robust, and well formed. He is rather more 
than forty years of age, but begins to look prematurely old. In 
his more youthful years he possessed great strength and activ- 
ity, and was well skilled in every^athletic and manly exercise. 
His appearance is quite prepossessing, for the very genius of 
good-nature seems to dwell in his countenance. He is amia- 
ble, but, at the present time, almost entirely deficient in those 
virtues that would render him a distinguished warrior-king. 
On meeting him in the street, such is his mien and dress, that, 
were it not for the deference paid to him by all classes, a 
stranger could not recognize* him as a king. He has no treas- 
ury at his command. No navy floats in his harbors. No 



38 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

powerful army awaits his nod. But what he lacks in some 
instances he more than makes up in others. His parliament- 
ary speeches are the best comments on his manly and regal 
character. An extract from his speech before the Hawaiian 
Parliament in 1850, shows his paternal relation toward his 
people : 

" In June, 1848, in concurrence with my chiefs and with 
the aid of my Privy Council, I made a division of lands upon 
the principle of surrendering the greater portion of my royal 
domain to my chiefs and people, with a reserve of certain 
lands for the support of the fort and garrison of my capital, 
and certain other lands as my own private property, in lieu of 
the share which I, inheriting the right of my predecessors, held 
in all the lands of the islands. Under that joint tenure, all 
lands, howsoever or "to whomsoever donated, were revocable 
at will ; no man's possessions, even that of the highest chief, 
was secure, and no man thought of improving land the pos- 
session of which was so uncertain. To remove this great bar 
to improvement, the division was made ; but as the interest 
of my poorer subjects appeared to me to require further pro- 
tection, with the concurrence of my chiefs and the aid of my 
Privy Council as aforesaid, on the 21st of December, 1849, cer- 
tain resolutions were passed with the view of giving to the in- 
dustrious cultivators of the soil an allodial title to the portions 
they occupied, and to facilitate the acquisition of land, in fee 
simple, by others inclined to be industrious. 

" No nation can prosper where the interests of religion and 
education are disregarded. What progress we have hitherto 
made is mainly attributable to those two great civilizing in- 
fluences. You can not, therefore, neglect them without fail- 
ing in your duty to your God, to yourselves, to the whole Ha- 
waiian people, and to me." 

His sentiments in a speech before his Parliament in 1851 
are worthy the most distinguished ruler that has ever lived. 

"It is equally my wish that, by careful investigation and 
consideration of facts, you place yourselves in a position to de- 
cide if the equality between the Catholics and Protestants, un- 



HIS SUCCESSOR PROCLAIMED. 39 

der the protection of the Constitution and the laws, does not 
still require something for its perfect application. 

ji. 44. of. «U. oi. oz. Of. 

* *«• w^'TC' "A* 3RF * 

" The markets of California, Oregon, Vancouver's Island, the 
possessions of the Russian American Company, and of Kamt- 
schatka, afford a profitable outlet for more than my islands can 
produce. It is desirable to increase productions to the great- 
est possible extent, and with that view, to encourage foreign 
capital and labor. With that view, you will consider what 
further legislation may be required. 

oj. oi. oi of, •if. -y. .u. 

•Jv" "75* "7s* *R* "A- *fr ^ 

M I have frequently called your attention to the unsatisfac- 
tory state of the prisons throughout my islands. An imme- 
diate and thorough reform is urgently wanted, so as to combine 
the principle of reforming criminals with that of their secure 
detention. 

" The public health is one of the objects most worthy of your 
consideration. Cholera, that scourge of humanity, has only 
recently ceased its ravages in the port with which we have 
most frequent and the speediest communication. The history 
of that epidemic proves that it recurs at intervals, and often 
takes years before it leaps from one place to another. It would 
be wise for us to adopt those sanitary regulations which uni- 
versal experience has recommended before it appears among 
us. All places that have neglected them have suffered for 
their supineness." 

A careful study of this language will establish the convic- 
tion that selfishness constitutes no part of the character of the 
present king. He is generous to a fault, and, as a sovereign, 
is much beloved by his people. His Malayan cast of counte- 
nance excepted, he retains hardly a vestige of likeness to his 
kingly predecessors. His proneness to confide in foreigners, 
together with his unbounded liberality, have made him a mere 
tool hi the hands of designing men. 

Whatever may have dictated the policy, the present king has 
chosen his successor to the crown. At the opening of the Ha- 
waiian Legislature on the 9th of April, 1853, among other top- 
ics, he said : 



40 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES 

" I have named my adopted son and heir, Liholiho, as my 
successor to the throne ; and it is my wish that you, my no- 
bles, concur in that appointment, and in the public proclama- 
tion which the Constitution requires." 

The House of Nobles did concur in this nomination, and 
Prince Alexander Liholiho was, by acclamation, proclaimed 
successor to the throne. The prince is twenty-three years old. 
He is well educated, and has a gentlemanly address. Some 
of his discussions in the House of Nobles — of which he is a 
member — have displayed great strength of mind and clearness 
of thought. His physiognomy^ indicates a strong independ- 
ence of character. A vast majority of the foreign population 
look forward with impatience to the time when he may as- 
cend the throne ; for they feel assured that he will dissolve the 
present cabinet, and reform abuses that can never be reformed 
while the now ruling monarch sways the sceptre. It is rather 
difficult clearly to decide the cause or causes of his immediate 
nomination to the office of successor — although he is heir-ap- 
parent, and the reigning king is in his dotage. It may have 
been done under the advice of officials representing foreign mon- 
archies, or of republicans (?) from the United States of America, 
who, having taken the oath of fealty to the Hawaiian Consti- 
tution, retain their present influence and position on the strength, 
of their attachment to a dusky sovereign ; or it may have been 
done to perpetuate the dynasty of Hawaiian kings, and to pre- 
serve the independence of the Hawaiian kingdom. The two 
latter designs, however, can never be realized. Even if Liho- 
liho should live to wear the purple, and to close a peaceful 
and prosperous reign, he will be the last of the Hawaiian mon- 
arch s ; but before that period shall be consummated the native 
population will nearly all have gone to the grave, and the na- 
tion itself will have become merged into a stronger and more 
energetic government. 

Among other things that seem curious to a recent visitor of 
the group, are the soirees given by King Kamehameha. They 
are held in the palace on various occasions, but especially on 

* See Frontispiece. 



R OVAL SOIREE S. 4^ 

the last day of July, in commemoration of the restoration of 
the islands, after their seizure by Lord George Paulet, of 
England, on the 2oth of February, lb43. It would be impos- 
sible to depict the aspect of the mixed multitude that throng 
his halls on these occasions. Foreigners and Hawaiians, of 
both sexes and nearly all ages, arrayed in every conceivable 
article of apparel ; the resident officials, en militaire, repre- 
senting their respective nations ; scores of plebeians who never 
saw a monarch, or were favored with his audience, until they 
saw King Kamehameha III. — all these making their salams 
in the most profound style that can be imagined — many de- 
cidedly genuine, but many more assumed and ungracious — 
present a scene that nothing but the graphic pencil of a Cruik- 
shank could represent. The most uncouth of all are the sub- 
jects who once belonged to Brother Jonathan, and that enjoy- 
ed but limited advantages at home ; but, imbibing a sort of 
disgust for plain republicanism, have gone there among high- 
sounding titles, to obtain distinctions and court royal favor. 

But the most interesting object — aside from the monarch 
and his "better half" — that is met with at this evening au- 
dience, is the mamo, or feather war-cloak^ of the king. It 

* Before this cloak came into possession of Kamehameha I., its fab- 
rication had been going on through the reign of eight preceding 
monaf chs. Its length is four feet, and it has a spread of eleven and 
a half feet at the bottom. Its ground-work is a coarse netting, and 
to this the delicate feathers are attached with a skill and grace 
worthy of the most civilized art. The feathers forming the border 
are reverted ; the whole presenting a bright yellow color, resembling 
a mantle of gold. The birds from which these splendid feathers 
were taken had but two feathers of the kind, and they were located 
one under each wing. It is a very rare species (Melithreptes pacif- 
ied), peculiar only to the higher regions of Hawaii, and is caught 
with great care and much toil. Five of these feathers were valued 
at one dollar and a half. It is computed that at least a million of 
dollars have been expended on the manufacture of this gorgeous fab- 
ric. The garment itself would be a fitting portion of the regalia of 
any European monarch. Viewing it in the scarcity of the article of 
which it is composed, and the immense amount of time and trouble 
employed in procuring it, it would be impossible for despotism to fab- 
ricate a more magnificent or costly garment for its proudest votary. 



42 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

once belonged to his father, the celebrated Kamehameha the 
Great, and justly denominated the Conqueror. It is usually 
accompanied with a war-spear, ten feet and a half in length, 
of a dark red wood, flattened to a point, finely polished, and 
deep-stained with the blood of many a Hawaiian patriot. 
This was the favorite weapon of the old warrior-king ; for he 
was a man of vast strength, and had a matchless skill in battle. 

The themes brought before a Senate, and the tone of their 
discussion, are a good index to the character of a nation and 
the condition of its public affairs. The legislative power of 
the Hawaiian kingdom is vested in the king, the House of No- 
bles, and the House of Representatives. Although the king 
is, of course, the head of the nation in his official capacity, yet 
he and the two Houses have a negative one on the other. 

The legislative body assemble annually in the first week of 
April. 

The Constitution gives the king the authority to convene a 
special Parliament, at such time, and in such place, as he may 
deem necessary. 

A nation receives its dignity from the character of its legis- 
lative discussions ; and those discussions borrow their value 
or worthlessness in view of their aim, and from the intelligence 
and mental and moral worth of the legislative body. Under 
this view, the Hawaiian Legislature may be recognized in 
common with others. It has its virtues, but they are nearly 
overwhelmed by the numerous follies introduced in resolutions 
and discussions. This arises from the lamentable incompe- 
tency of many of the members, and from despotism on the part 
of a few others ; in other words, the deficiency of strictly po- 
litical and patriotic men in the legislative body is not unfre- 
quently a source of much embarrassment to the king and his 
native subjects. As an evidence of this, I can not forbear 
citing a message sent by the king to the House of Representa- 
tives on the 9th of May, 1853, during the annual convention 
of the Legislature. It is an appeal of such touching eloquence, 
and so plainly illustrates the true position of Kamehameha, 
that I cite it entire : 



HAWAIIAN PARLIAMENT. 43 

" I desire the representatives of my people to investigate the 
question whether I have legally or equitably lost my right to 
the special appropriation of ten thousand dollars, made by the 
Legislature of 1850, in the month of July, for a yacht ; if I 
have lost my right from any fault of mine or of others ; if I 
can be deprived of that right in accordance with the principles 
under which the appropriations which have been allowed to 
other persons and for other purposes have been allowed or re- 
fused ; and if the decision should be against me, whether I am 
entitled to any indemnity. If so, what indemnity, by whom it 
shall be paid, and in what manner it is to be paid ? - 

" Another question I have to submit to you. The appropri- 
ation for the necessary expenses of my household expired on 
the 1st April. Money has been refused for these necessary ex- 
penses on the ground that no appropriation has as yet been 
made. Having the fullest confidence that you do not mean 
to separate without voting me the means necessary to my ex- 
istence, I leave to you to make some enactment to remedy this 
urgent evil. It imposes a hardship upon me which I believe 
is not usual in other governments. 

" I have ordered the Commissioners of my Privy Purse to 
place before you every document you may require for the so- 
lution of all the questions directly or indirectly embraced in 
this message, of which I recommend to your loyal patience, 
your just and impartial judgment. 

" I thank my grateful people for the appropriation of ten 
thousand dollars, in July, 1850, for a yacht, to be used at my 
pleasure, and of ten thousand dollars granted in 1852 for the 
payment of my debts. I have ordered an account to be ren- 
dered to you of the way in which these aids have been ap- 
plied." 

This " message" speaks volumes. The story of " King 
Lear," standing and asking admittance into his own house, so 
as to obtain shelter from the fury of the pelting storm, and to 
have been refused by his own daughters, has drawn tears from 
millions of eyes. In the above message, however, we actually 
see the Khig of the Hawaiian Islands knocking at the door of 



44 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

the treasury of his own people and kingdom for means to keep 
him and his household from starvation ! We see him plead- 
ing for an appropriation actually made by his own subjects, 
through their representatives in Parliament assembled ! In 
such an age as this, we see a monarch, reposing on the strength 
of a " constitutional monarchy," begging his daily bread ! 

But the people share the embarrassments of their king. At 
the session of the Parliament in 1853, the following petitions 
were sent in : 

" That the marriage of very young people with very old be 
prohibited. 

" That the marriage of educated persons with ignorant be 
prohibited. 

" That all persons be required to furnish a quarterly account 
of their income and its sources, that it may be known whether 
they have been industrious." 5 ^ 

Such exactions are suited more to the " States of the 
Church," or perfidious Austria, than to a kingdom which 
boasts a Constitution that begins with 

" God hath created all men free and equal, and endowed 
them with certain inalienable rights, among which are life 
and liberty, &c." 

Another sample of Hawaiian legislation is seen in the in- 
equality of taxation, as established by law : 

Road-tax $3 00 per yearf , 

School-tax 2 00 

Poll-tax 1 00 

Tax for each dog 1 00 " 

Tax for each horse 1 00 * * 

This tax is levied indiscriminately on all able-bodied men. 
Hence the poor Hawaiian who earns but his sixty dollars per 
year, pays as much as the Ministers of Finance and Public In- 
struction, who have a fixed salary of four thousand dollars a 

* From the " Polynesian" — the accredited organ of the Hawaiian 
government — of May 28th, 1853. 

f Was formerly six dollars per year ; but an act that passed the 
Legislature on June 16th, 1853, reduced it one half. 



THE FORT. 45. 



year, besides other perquisites. And yet, with this indiscrim- 
inate taxation, there is not a single cent imposed on real estate. 
This system is a source of poverty to the native population, 
and of wealth to a privileged few. Allowing for the pecu- 
liar state of the nation, it outstrips the serfdom of Russia, and 
flings into the shade the ignoble instrumentalities that have 
laid Poland prostrate. And were it not that the wants of the 
Hawaiian people are simple and few, this system would term- 
inate in blood, or the race itself would be exterminated in the 
struggle. 



CHAPTER IV 

HONOLULU. 

The Fort. — Doings of the French. — Mistaken Policy — Popery a 
source of Trouble to the Hawaiian Government. — Yattel quoted. 
— An intoxicated Sailor. — Insane native Woman. 

The fort is a curious object, of a quadrangular form. It 
stands close to the sea-shore, and its southern base is laved by 
the water at high tide Its location occupies the very best 
part of the town for business purposes, and it is altogether a 
useless piece of lumber. Its erection took place when the 
reign of Kamehameha I. was drawing to a close, in the year 
1817. The immense walls are of coral, loosely put up, with- 
out cement. One broadside from a heavy frigate would blow 
the structure into countless fragments. 

Although it is the public prison of Honolulu, it is a mere 
ruin. On its walls are piled a few pyramids of rusty and 
worthless shot and shell, over which, from a flag-pole about 
thirty feet high, proudly waves the flag of the Hawaiian gov- 
ernment. In the spring of 1849, these old walls mounted 
rather a formidable array of guns ;* but in August of the 

* Before the fort was dismantled, it mounted seventy guns of the 
following calibre, viz. : 



do. 


12 


do. 


iron 


18 


do. 


do. 


9 


do. 


do. 


6 


do. 


do. 


4 


do. 



4g SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

same year, it was dismantled by the French, simply because 
the government would not submit to ■ • Ten Demands"* made 

1 long brass 32 pounder. 
1 
14 
4 
41 
8 
1 4 inch mortar. 

* Demands to which the government of the French Republic 
thinks that satisfaction ought to be made, before the re-establish- 
ment of diplomatic relations can take place with that of the Hawaii- 
an Islands : 

" 1. The adoption, complete, entire and loyal, of the treaty of the 
26th of March, 1846, as it was adopted in the French text. 

" 2. The establishment of a duty from one to two dollars a gallon, 
of five bottles, on spirits, containing less than fifty-five per cent, of 
alcohol. 

"3. A treatment rigorously equal, granted to the two worships, 
Catholic and Protestant. 

" The direction of instruction confided to two superior committees 
formed in each of the two religions. 

"The submission of the Catholic schools to Catholic inspectors. 

" The proportional division between the two religions of the tax 
raised by the Hawaiian government for the support of schools. 

" 4. The adoption of the French language in the relations between 
French citizens and the Hawaiian administration. 

" 5. The withdrawal of the exception imposed upon French whal- 
ers importing wines and spirits, and the abrogation of the regulation 
which obliges ships laden with liquors to pay and support the Cus- 
tom-house guard put on board to watch over their shipment or dis- 
charge. 

" Large facilities of deposit, of transit, and of transhipment grant- 
ed to the trade in spirits. 

" 6. The reimbursement of all the duties received in virtue of the 
disposition, the withdrawal of which is demanded by the paragraph 
above mentioned ; or a proportional indemnity given for the dam- 
age occasioned to French commerce by the restrictions which have 
suspended its relations. 

"7. The reimbursement of the fine of twenty-five dollars paid by 
the French ship General Teste, and besides an indemnity of sixty 
dollars for the time during which she was unjustly detained here. 

" 8. The insertion in the official journal of the Hawaiian govern- 



DOINGS OF THE FRENCH. 47 

by Admiral de Tromelin in behalf of France. These demands 
affected to spring out of a misunderstanding that had arisen 
between the Hawaiian government and M. Dillon, the French 
consul ; but, in reality, they seem to have been the intended 
basis of a rupture between the two nations, and all to gratify 
the consummate vanity of France in the extension of her ter- 
ritory in the Pacific Ocean. 

To these demands by the admiral, the Haw r aiian monarch 
and his ministers offered no consent, but a bold and courteous 
defense of their own rights. To mature their compliance with 
these requisitions, they were offered three days for delibera- 
tion, and a threat was made, that, if they did not yield, " dis- 
posable means" would be employed " to redress injuries so pa- 
tiently endured by France." The three days elapsed. The 
king's Foreign Minister declared that these demands could not 
be acceded to, and that the king had ordered that no resist- 
ance whatever should be made to such force. The French 
consul followed this reply by striking his flag, and retiring on 
board the war- steamer " Gassendi." A force of over two 
hundred men landed and took possession of the fort, while an- 
other force took possession of all the Hawaiian vessels in port. 

But these puissant legions were extremely cautious not to 
touch the Hawaiian flag. They requested the governor to 
take it down ; but, of course, he refused. It is possible they 
may have felt creeping around them the strong sinews of the 
treaty made in 1843 between France and England and the 
Hawaiian nation ; and this remembrance may have deterred 
them from perpetrating one of the most finished acts of their 

ment of the punishment inflicted upon the scholars of the high school, 
whose impious conduct occasioned the complaints of the Abbe Cou- 
lon. 

" 9. The removal of the governor, who caused or allowed to be 
violated on Hawaii the domicile of the Abbe Marechal, or the order 
to that governor to make reparation to that missionary, the one or 
the other decision to be inserted in the official journal. 

"10. The payment to a French citizen, proprietor of the Hotel of 
France, of the damages committed in his house by foreign sailors, 
against whom the Hawaiian government took no process." 



48 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

own folly. The fort was taken possession of on Saturday, Au- 
gust 25th. It was followed by a serene and lovely Sabbath. 
The town itself was as quiet as the weather. On the follow- 
ing Monday, the king's commissioners visited the steamer, 
but no reconciliation was effected. Without charging the Ha- 
waiians with a violation of the treaty of 1846, but by placing 
upon it an unfair interpretation, the French admiral ordered 
the fort to be dismantled. At once a most wanton destruction 
of government property was commenced. Guns were spiked 
or broken, and their carriages annihilated. Powder maga- 
zines were broken open, and tons of powder thrown into the 
sea. The governor's house was shockingly disfigured ; win- 
dows were broken, doors mutilated, and a variety of property 
totally ruined. Shades of Mars and Minerva ! And these 
warriors were from the land of Charlemagne and Napoleon 
the Great ! Their ravages among old worn-out guns and 
native calabashes continued four days, the Hawaiian flag 
floating, day and night, over their heads. 

The invulnerable " army of reparation" and their knights 
errant embarked, at last, without the loss of a single man. 
But the admiral and consul failed to compel the government 
to lower their duty on French brandy. The conquerors put 
out to sea, running away with a splendid yacht belonging to 
the king, and having destroyed property to a large amount. # 

* Extract from the Report of the Committee of the Board of Fi- 
nance, appointed under a Resolution of the King in Council, on the 
10th of June, 1850, to prepare and submit a Bill of Appropriations 
for the year 1851. 

" In the estimate of ways and means for the current year, no men- 
tion has been made of the $100,060 which Mr. Judd was instructed 
on the 10th of September, 1849, to claim of the French government 
for damages done here in August, 1849, nor of the $35,926 (adding 
interest on the $22,769 interest due 23d March, 1846, up to 23d 
March, 1850) which, under certain circumstances, he was instructed, 
on the 9th November, 1849, by your majesty's command, to claim, 
for 12 per cent, interest, adjusted every year, from 12th July, 1839, 
to 23d March, 1846, on the $20,000 carried off from your majesty's 
treasury in July, 1839, nor the indemnity for the disparagement of 
your majesty's royal authority by the proceedings of August last 



DOINGS OF THE FRENCH. 49 

Thus ended another act of indignity on the part of the French 
toward this weak nation. And all this was done on account 
of a little duty on brandy ! Verily, the French have earned 
for themselves a very unenviable reputation among the islands 
of the Pacific ! 

The French admiral left behind him undisputed proofs of 
having fulfilled his threat. When I visited the old fort, in 
the early part of 1853, the guns that had been spiked and 
shorn of their trunnions lay strewn over the interior. But 
there was one gun on which they seemed to have vented all 
their spleen. It was a magnificent specimen of composition, 
of Helvetic manufacture, retaining the date of its origin, 1686, 
and was a long 32 pounder. It looked as if it might once 
have sent many a score of brave fellows to their last reckon- 
ing:. In vain were the efforts of the French armorer to break 
off its strong arms ; but he drove a huge spike into the vent, 
and silenced its thunder-tones forever. That single gun cost 
the Hawaiian government 1000 piculs of sandal- wood ; which, 
at the time, was equal to $10,000. 

A mistaken policy induced the commission of so many in- 
dignities on the part of the French. They may have placed 
a wrong interpretation on treaties, and made a show of de- 
termination to defend what they supposed were treaty-stipula- 

( which ought to be at least $50,000 more), because, however clear 
your majesty's title is to these amounts, or even a sum larger than 
their aggregate, Mr. Judd left Paris before he received a reply from 
the French government in relation to these demands, and, for the 
present, it is wiser not to count upon any part of the above amounts 
in calculating the ways and means for the financial year ending 31st 
of March, 1851. 

" By the Report aforesaid, you will find that the king and Board 
of Finance consider that his majesty has claims on the French gov- 
ernment to the amount of $185,986, and it is hoped that the money 
due for these claims will, at some future day, be available to repair 
the damages done to the fort and the governor's house, to replace the 
artillery and arms destroyed, and pay for a new yacht, which is much 
wanted for his majesty's use." — Appendix to the Report of Hon. R. 
C. Wyllie, before the Hawaiian Legislature, in 1851, p. 22, 23. 

c 



50 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

tions by an attempt to compel a weak government to lower 
its duty on brandy manufactured in France. But there was 
something else behind the scenes that they were unwilling to 
acknowledge as being the primary cause of their unwarrant- 
able hostilities. That cause was the reception given, by the 
king and chiefs, to the first party of Roman Catholic mission- 
aries that landed on the islands. The course they pursued 
was contrary to the reigning powers, and came under the range 
of political offenses. The Hawaiian king and his nobles claim- 
ed that they had a right to expel the teachers of a new relig- 
ion ; the commanders of French war-ships denied that right. 
And here it was that the French acted on grounds unsupported 
by the laws of nations, and their policy was, therefore, erro- 
neous. 

In threatening the Hawaiian nation with the wrath of 
France, the admiral forgot the example of pagan Rome, which 
expressly forbade the worship of any God who had not been 
approved as such by the Senate ; and the example of England 
in the Act of Uniformity (1 Elizabeth, c. 2), and the impris- 
onments, &c, under it ; the Act 23 Elizabeth, c. 1 ; the Act 
29 Elizabeth, c. 6 ; the Act 3 James I., c. 4 ; the Act 35 
Elizabeth, c. 1, and its penalty of felony, without benefit of 
clergy, if certain parties, persisting in a religion forbidden by 
law, did not abjure the realm and all the queen's dominions 
forever. He equally forgot the persecution for nonconformity 
in the reign of James I. ; those under Charles I., from which 
the Puritans were glad to save themselves by escaping to 
Massachusetts Bay ; the persecution of Episcopacy under 
Cromwell ; the Conventicle Act (16 Charles II., c. 4), which 
subjected all who presumed to worship God otherwise than as 
the law enjoined, to fine and imprisonment, and punished the 
third offense with banishment ; the Test Act of Charles II., 
c. 1, with its declaration against transubstantiation ; and the 
Act 22 Charles II., c. i., with its powers to justices of the peace 
to break down and take into custody persons assembled in con- 
venticles forbidden by law. And he ought to have remem- 
bered that the Toleration Act in England was only passed in 



POPERY A SOURCE OF TROUBLE. 5]^ 

the reign of "William III. ; that, in England, civil toleration 
is an impunity, and safely granted by the state to every sect 
that does not maintain doctrines inconsistent with the public 
peace, and that every man is answerable to the laws of his 
country for propagating opinions and pursuing practices which 
necessarily create civil disturbance. He forgot that France 
had established religious toleration only as late as the Charter 
of 9th August, 1830 ; and that the same thing was repeated 
in the Constitution of the French Republic of the 4th Novem- 
ber, 1848. Yet, in view of these facts, he had the presump- 
tion to threaten the female chief ruler of the Hawaiian Islands, 
who, under the light of common sense, could not see that men 
from foreign lands had any right to come and establish them- 
selves on the islands, with the view of teaching a new religion 
to the natives, tending to civil discord, without the permission 
of the governing powers. 

It is a fact that no well-informed man will attempt to deny, 
that from first to last, Popery has been a source of trouble to 
the Hawaiian government. In this connection it may be 
proper to cite a few paragraphs from the official documents 
of Hon. R. C. Wyllie, Minister of Foreign Relations at the 
Sandwich Islands. Those documents were unreservedly sub- 
mitted to the commissioner of France, to enable him to form 
a just and impartial judgment on all questions that have ex- 
isted, or that now exist, with his government. 

"In the year 1805, the Abbe Coudrin, of Poitiers, animated 
by a zeal to promote religion in France and in foreign coun- 
tries, established himself, with a few fellow-laborers, in a house 
in the street "Pic Pus" at Paris. He labored assiduously 
in the formation of a society with that object, which was ap- 
proved of by a decree of the holy father of the 10th Jan., 1817, 
and confirmed by a Bull on the 17th Nov., of the same year. 

" In the month of November, 1825, the sovereign pontiff, 
Leo XII., specially committed to the Abbe Coudrin and his 
associates the duty of carrying the light of the faith to the 
Sandwich Islands, and appointed for that mission Messrs. 
Abraham Armand, Patrick Short, and Alexis Bachelot. They, 



52 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

with Melchior Bonda, Theodore Boissier, and Leonard Portal, 
as catechists, embarked, on the 20th of November, 1826, in 
the ship Comet, from Bordeaux ; on the 7th of February, 1827, 
they reached Valparaiso ; on the 8th of March, Gtuilca ; on 
the 30th of March, Callao ; on the 27th of May, Mazatlan ; 
and Oahu on the 8th of July, 1827. 

" They arrived with extensive powers from the Holy See, 
M. Bachelot, in the character of apostolic prefect, and the two 
other priests in that of apostolic missionaries. While in Cal- 
lao, a Lima newspaper, edited by Frenchmen, had represented 
them as ' Jesuits in disguise ;' and while in Mazatlan, the same 
character was given to them by M. Jean Angel della Bianca, 
and M. Bigourdan, the supercargoes of the Cornet.^ 

#41. M. M. M. M. M. M. 

•JF W W "A" "Tf- W W 

" Nevertheless, after much opposition, they landed, but were 
ordered to re-embark in the Comet, which had brought them. 
This order they eluded by concealing themselves till that ship 
had sailed. After she had gone, they lived for some time qui- 
etly under their disguise, seldom showing themselves abroad, 
shunning public notice, but applying themselves assiduously 
to the acquisition of the language, without attempting to make 
any proselytes. Up to December, 1828, they had not admin- 
istered baptism to any adult, but about that time their reli- 
gious tenets had become known to the natives, and attracted 
their curiosity. In proportion as this curiosity increased, the 
government became alarmed. The worship of images and 
relics, and the adoration of the consecrated wafer (Eucharist) 
were identified with the old idolatry abolished by royal au- 
thority in 1819, and which, ever afterward, had been consid- 
ered a treasonable offense, and was severely punished. Sub- 
sequently, by order of Kaahumanu, Governor Boki published a 
strict prohibition to the natives to attend places of Catholic 
worship, or partake in its ceremonies. "f 

All this is perfectly clear, and distinctly shows how the 
Hawaiian government regarded the genius of Popery. In view 
of maintaining their authority as rulers, they were induced to 

* Wyllie's Historical Summary, p. 271. f ^> P- 2 ^ 2 - 



POPERY A SOURCE OF TROUBLE. 53 

take immediate steps to remove an evil which they supposed 
would resist their own influence. As it is impossible entirely 
to avoid reference to history, and as I wish to be just to all 
parties, and to truth itself, I am compelled to enter into de- 
tails during the progress of these pages, and correct wrong im- 
pressions. It was no wonder, with their peculiar views and 
feelings, that the rulers of the nation took measures for the ex- 
pulsion of the Papal teachers. To form a just appreciation 
of their motives and actions, I will cite one or two of their 
orders entire, as they were translated into Englisb, and sent 
to the priests in a legitimate manner. The first order was 
delivered on the 2d of April, 1829, and was as follows : 
"Where are you, priests, w T ho have come from France ? 
" This is our decree for your banishment. Begone from 
this land. Dwell not upon these Hawaiian Islands, for your 
doctrine is at variance wdth the religion which we profess. 
And, because of your teaching your religion to the people of 
this land, some of us have turned to your sentiments. We 
are endeavoring to spread among the people the religion which 
we profess — this religion which we plainly know to be true. 
This is what we earnestly desire. 

" When you arrived here, we did not invite you, but you came 
of your own accord ; therefore, we send you away. Begone. 
" We allow three months to prepare for your departure, and 
if within that time you shall not have gone, your effects will 
be confiscated, and you will go destitute ; and if you wait 
until the fourth month, and we see you delaying, then you 
will be imprisoned, and we shall do unto you as do the gov- 
ernments of all nations to those who disregard their commands. 
So will we constantly do to you. 

(Signed), Kauikeaouli (the young king). 

Kaahumantj (Kuhina Nui). 

Kaikoewa. 

Hoapili. 

Naihe. 

KUAKINI."* 
* Hist. Summary, p. 273. 



54 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

The priests were waited on by a high chief at the end of 
five months, who reminded them of the order of the 2d of 
April. Sundry attempts by Mr. Hill and others were made 
to persuade them to repair to other islands in Polynesia, to 
which neither Protestants nor Catholics had ever carried the 
light of the Gospel ; but they declined to obey these repeat- 
ed orders, and still continued to teach their doctrines. Their 
final excuse being that they could not go for want of a vessel 
to take them away, the government, at an expense of four 
thousand dollars, fitted out the brig Waverley for that purpose, 
and gave the following instructions to the captain : 

"November 5th, 1831. 
" I, Kauikeaouli, king of the Sandwich Islands, and Kaa- 
humanu and Kaukini, governor of Oahu, do hereby commis- 
sion William Sumner, commander of the brig Waverley, now 
lying in Oahu, to receive on board two French gentlemen and 
their goods, or whatever they may have to bring on board, 
and to proceed on to California, and land them safe on shore, 
with every thing belonging to them, where they may subsist, 
and then to return back to the Sandwich Islands. " # 

These instructions were obeyed. The priests were taken 
to the coast of California. But in little more than five years 
they came back in another vessel to the islands. Their re- 
appearance speedily called forth the following order from the 
Governor of Oahu : 

"Honolulu, Oahu, 19th April, 1837. 
" This is what I say to the French gentlemen. This is my 
opinion to both of you, who were sent away before from these 
islands, that you are forever forbidden by our chiefs to come 
here. This is the reason : I asked you if you intended to live 
here ; the answer you made was, ' No ! we intend to stop a 
few days, until we can obtain a vessel to carry us from here? 
I replied, When you get a vessel, go quickly. This is what 

* Hist. Summary, p. 2*74. 



POPERY A SOURCE OF TROUBLE. 55 

I say to both of you : From this time, prepare yourselves to de- 
part in the same vessel in which you arrived ; when the vessel 
is ready, both of you are to go without delay. 

(Signed), " Na Kekuanaoa."* 

This was followed by a proclamation by the king, dated 
from Lahaina (Maui), ten days later : 

" Ye strangers from all foreign lands, who are in my do- 
minions, both residents and those recently arrived, I make 
known my word to you all, so that you may understand my 
orders. 

" The men of France whom Kaahumanu banished are 
under the same unaltered order up to this period. The re- 
jection of those men is perpetual, confirmed by me at the pres- 
ent time. I will not assent to their remaining in my domin- 
ions. 

" These are my orders to them, that they go back imme- 
diately on board the vessel on which they have come, that 
they may stay on board her till that vessel on which they 
came sails ; that is to me clearly right, but there abiding here 
I do not wish. 

" I have no desire that the service of the missionaries who 
follow the Pope should be performed in my kingdom at all. 

"Wherefore all who shall be encouraging the papal mis- 
sionaries I shall regard as enemies to me, to my counselors, 
to my chiefs, to my people, and to my kingdom. 

(Signed), " Kamehameha III."t 

But these missives were disregarded. The priests stayed ; 
and their stay was encouraged by the English and French 
officials, who aided them in resisting royal authority. These 
things led to a long and difficult correspondence between sever- 
al foreign officials and the native rulers ; and the final result 
was, that the priests of Popery stayed at the islands, and have 
ever since been protected there by the mouth of the cannon. 
* Hist. Summary, p. 275. f lb. 



56 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

How far the Hawaiian government was justified in at- 
tempting to banish the teachers who were deemed dangerous, 
or whether those teachers were justifiable in resisting the law 
of the land, are questions which would receive a great variety 
of reply from different individuals. But on these points that 
highly respectable authority, Vattel, seems sufficient : 

"It is then certain that no one can interfere in the will of 
a nation, in its religious affairs, without violating its right and 
doing it an injury ; much less is any one allowed to employ 
force of arms to oblige it to receive a doctrine and a worship 
which he considers as divine. What right have men to pro- 
claim themselves the defenders and protectors of the cause of 
God ? He always knows how, when he pleases to lead the 
nations to the knowledge of himself, by more certain means 
than those of violence. Persecutions make no true converts. 
The monstrous maxim of extending religion by the sword is a 
subversion of the law of nations, and the most terrible scourge 
of kingdoms. Every madman believes he fights the cause of 
God, and every ambitious man covers himself with this pre- 
tense. "While Charlemagne spread fire and sword through 
Saxony to plant Christianity there, the successors of Moham- 
med ravaged Asia and Africa to establish the Koran. 

" But it is an office of humanity to labor by mild and law- 
ful means to persuade a nation to receive a religion that is be- 
lieved to be the only one that is true and salutary. Mission- 
aries may be sent to instruct the people, and this care is alto- 
gether conformable to the attention which every nation owes 
to the perfection and happiness of others. But it must be ob- 
served that, not to do any injury to the rights of a sovereign, 
the missionaries ought to abstain from preaching clandestine- 
ly, or without his permission, a new doctrine to his people. 
He may refuse to allow them the liberty of discharging their 
office, and if he orders them to leave his dominions, they ought 
to obey. They have need of a very express order from the 
King of kings for disobeying lawfully a sovereign who com- 
mands according to the extent of his power, and the prince 
who shall not be convinced of this extraordinary order of the 



RELIGIOUS TOLERATION. 57 

Deity will do no more than exert his authority by punishing a 
missionary for disobedience."^ 

Although Popery has filled prisons with miserable victims, 
shaken the foundations of the mightiest monarchies, and left 
its bloody footprints on the lap of almost every nation on earth, 
they have done what every separate ecclesiastical body would 
do if the terrible pre-eminence in power that could insure suc- 
cess were once achieved. Power intoxicates, and, whether it 
becomes invested in the hands of any particular body of men 
or of a single man, it is always dangerous. A full and free 
toleration in all religions is the only thing that can -satisfy the 
wants of man, or meet him face to face. The toleration of 
conscience, established by Kamehameha soon after the return 
of the Papal teachers, was the best thing that could have been 
done for the nation. In referring to this topic, the Minister 
of Foreign Relations said : 

" But it pleased the king, much to his glory, by a decree of 
the 17th of June, 1839, to lead the way to the entire and per- 
fectly free toleration which he consummated in the Constitu- 
tion of October, 1840. That is the only system which accords 
with my conscience (divesting the question of all considerations 
of state) ; it is the wish of the king and his government to car- 
ry it out perfectly ; but what they abjure is the admixture of 
foreign political intolerance with their own free religious tol- 
eration."! 

It was not my intention to linger so long about this old 
fort ; but a desire to make a few crooked things straight, by 
putting facts in their true light, has led me to wade through 
a few of its historical reminiscences. Before bestowing upon 
it a final adieu, one or two items more must claim the atten- 
tion of myself and reader. Life is composed chiefly of incon- 
gruities, and not unfrequently do the beautiful and sublime 
precede by but a single step the absolutely ridiculous. After 
indulging so many reflections on this Hawaiian fortress, a 
drunken sailor was the last marine animal I should have pic- 
tured to my own fancy. But so it was. The poor fellow had 

* Vattel, lib. ii., cap. iv., sees. 59, 60. f Historical Summary. 

C 2 



58 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

secured one too many of the " smiles of Bacchus ;" and now 
it was his turn to be secured by some dozen or twenty ragged 
and dirty native police, who, proud of their victory over one in- 
ebriate, were carrying him to a stone cell, where it would be 
some time before the rosy god would smile upon him again. 
" Jack" raved, swore, and sternly threatened what he would 
do when he regained his liberty and felt like " himself again." 
It was all unavailing, however ; for this brave guard carried 
him to his lodgings, into which they threw him like a log of 
wood, and, turning the bolt upon him, left him to commune 
with his own thoughts.* 

While reflecting on the proverbial improvidence of that class 
of men denominated " sailors," my attention was arrested by 
a shriek that seemed to emanate from a contiguous cell. On 
proceeding thither, I was immediately convinced of its cause. 
There stood close before the iron grating that held her captive, 
and admitted the pure light and atmosphere of heaven into 
her wretched abode, a native woman, in a deplorable state of 
insanity. She was rather above the medium size of women, 
and apparently about forty years of age. Her hair, which 
clung around her beautifully moulded head, in short, massive 
curls, was as black and glossy as a raven's wing. She was 
entirely nude, excepting a wreath of sea-grass, that answered 
the same purpose as Eve's fig-leaves. Her form, however, 
was perfect ; and there lingered about her such distinctive 
traces of peerless beauty as would once have ranked her with 
the early women of creation, whose matchless perfection se- 
duced the " sons of God" from their allegiance. In her vio- 
lent moments she had dashed her head against the walls of 
her prison ; and now her fine brow was bruised and bleeding. 
There was no couch, nor a single comfort in her cell ; for the 
hard, cold earth was her only bed. There she stood, a mourn- 
ful smile playing around her lips, and a sort of half-dreamy, 
half-frantic light gleaming in her large black eyes. There 
she stood, a pitiful object to the gaze of every recreant stranger 
that might feel inclined to linger before her iron bulwark. Oh 
God ! it was a distressing scene — that total wreck of beautiful 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 59 

humanity. She had once mingled freely with her race, and 
cradled her infant to sleep on her beautiful bosom ; for there 
were evidences that she had been a mother. She had once 
laved her limbs in the clear blue waters of her native seas, 
and threaded the cocoa-nut grove around her dwelling with 
a dignity that would not have dishonored Milton's "Eve." 
But, poor creature, she was mad now ! I shall never forget 
her gaze as I turned away with a moistened eye and sorrow- 
ful spirit, wishing that the grave, in mercy, would soon close 
over her physical and intellectual nakedness, and pondering 
how much better was her condition than millions of gifted in- 
tellects whose powers are prostituted at the shrine of ever} 7 
sensual enjoyment. 



CHAPTER V. 

HONOLULU. 

Public Buildings. — Churches. — Schools. — Benevolent Institutions. — 
Cemeteries, Foreign and Native. — A Yisit to the Royal Tomb. 

The public buildings of Honolulu are of modern date, but 
not numerous. They include the Government House, Court- 
house, Custom-house, Government Printing-office, and Market- 
house. The walls of all these buildings are composed of coral 
procured from the reefs, and smoothly hewn. These edifices 
are more useful than elegant ; and they will stand long after 
the present generation shall have gone to the grave. 

Honolulu contains five regular churches. They comprise 
the First and Second Native churches ; the Bethel for sea- 
men; the Foreign church; and the edifice used for Catholic 
worship. All these are well sustained and numerously at- 
tended. 

There is something so unique about the history of the erec- 
tion of the first native house of worship, that I can not refrain 
from giving it entire. I cite from a document handed to f .me 



60 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

by the Minister of Public Instruction, and compiled from facts 
furnished by his honor, Associate Justice John Ii, of the Su- 
preme Court of the Sandwich Islands .^ It may also be proper 
to state that said justice is one of the high chiefs of the nation : 
" The idea of erecting a permanent and commodious house 
of worship for the First Native Church in Honolulu originated 
with Kalaimoku, the first chief in rank next to Kaahumanu, 
the regent. This was about the year 1825. The regent ac- 
quiesced, and the work was commenced. A few stones were 
cut for the walls. Numerous pits of lime were burned by 
taking the live coral from the reefs and carrying wood from 
the mountains, The work was found to be too heavy, and 
progressed slowly, for it was all done by hand, For a time 
the erection of a stone building was abandoned, and a large 
house was built in the old native style, with round timbers, 
and thatched. This was about one hundred and seventy-five 
feet long, and between seventy and eighty wide, and was com- 
pleted in the year 1828. Kalaimoku having died in 1827, 
this work was accomplished chiefly through the energetic 
measures of Governor Boki, directed by Kaahumanu. She 
died in the year 1832, but the idea of constructing a stone 
house of worship was not given up. Kinau, daughter of Kam- 
ehameha I., succeeded Kaahumanu as regent. She was fav- 
orable toward Christian institutions. About the year 1836, 
a consultation was held by the high chiefs, in relation to car- 
rying out the long-contemplated enterprise. The measure 
was resolved upon, Kinau gave it her full support. The 
king, Kamehameha III., now in power, sanctioned the meas- 
ure, and at one time subscribed three thousand dollars toward 
it, and paid the money down. By this means, lumber, glass, 
nails, &c, were ordered from the United States by Mr. Cham- 
berlain, secular agent of the mission. The estimated number 
of stones requisite were apportioned out to the several chiefs, 
who called on their tenants on their adjacent lands, according 
to the custom of those times, to assemble, cut the stone on the 
reefs, and draw them to the spot. In this way, hundreds of 
men were seen employed for days in succession. Some of the 



ERECTION OF FIRST NATIVE CHURCH, g^ 

stones were drawn by ox and horse teams, but they were 
mostly drawn on carts by hand, some forty or fifty men often 
drawing one cart. Large kilns of lime were prepared and 
burned in the same way, the sand being brought from the 
beach. In 1838 the corner stone was laid. About that time 
Kinau died ; and important changes were made in the gov- 
ernment, so as to limit the power of the chiefs over the com- 
mon people. The work which, in a good degree, had been 
carried on by the authority of chiefs, was now, in a great meas- 
ure, thrown upon the voluntary labor of the people connected 
with the congregation. Contributions were called for, and 
they were cheerfully responded to. A superintendent was 
nominated for the work, and Kekuanaoa, the present governor 
of Oahu, was elected. He acted with his usual energy, and 
the walls were reared. Native masons only were employed, 
but they refused all pay. Each gang had its mason among 
themselves, and they cheerfully gave their services. Foreign 
carpenters were employed to frame and put on the roof, and 
do the joiner- work about the building. At this stage of the 
work, all the necessary funds were raised by voluntary contri- 
butions, and when the building was finished, no debt rested 
upon it. It was a little over five years from the time the first 
stone was laid until the house was completed and dedicated 
to the object for which it was reared. Estimating building 
and other labor at the rates of those days, the entire cost of the 
work was supposed to be about thirty thousand dollars." 

Such was the way in which men just recovered from the 
debasement of paganism built a house of worship to the Most 
High. It is a huge fabric— one hundred and twenty feet long, 
by seventy wide, and thirty in height to the eaves. It will 
accommodate more than three thousand worshipers, and has 
enrolled on its records the names of two thousand communi- 
cants. The walls are immensely thick and very compact. It 
seems to possess sufficient strength to undergo quite a siege. 
It is one of the landmarks of the mariner as he steers his vessel 
for the entrance of the harbor, for it stands near the sea-shore. 
This fabric will stand as a monument of Hawaiian piety and 



62 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

labor when their beautiful islands shall become the abode of 
another race of men from distant nations. 

In addition to their two large churches in town, the Chris- 
tianized Hawaiians have eight outposts near Honolulu. 

In this connection I can not refrain from making a few 
comments on the Seamen's Bethel. It is a neat frame struc- 
ture, erected at a cost of $5000. Its location is near the prin- 
cipal landing-places for the reception of discharged cargoes. 
Attached to it are two reading-rooms for masters and officers 
of vessels, and one for seamen. Another apartment contains 
a seaman's library, and a depository for Bibles and tracts. 

The sailor's chaplaincy in Honolulu is one of great value 
to the sailor. In no port throughout the vast Pacific Ocean 
is there an opportunity for achieving greater good than there. * 

* A few extracts from a letter dated Honolulu, June 12, 1844, by 
Mr. Damon, the chaplain, to Hon. R. C. Wyllie, in the shape of a re- 
ply to questions, will well illustrate the above remarks : 

" Hundreds of seamen annually visit this port who do not hear my 
voice in the chapel. Some do not come, although they enjoy an op- 
portunity ; but others do not enjoy liberty on shore during the hours 
of the holy Sabbath, while many come and leave during the week. 

" Hence, as you are aware, it is my uniform practice to invite sea- 
men of all nations to call at my study, both upon the Sabbath and 
week day. This invitation I have endeavored to make in the high- 
est degree general, most fully believing that I should ' know nothing 
of nation or sect in this hallowed cause.' 

" During the year above mentioned my study was visited by more 
than 400 seamen. The names of many I did not register, in conse- 
quence of haste or inadvertency. Many of the seamen speaking 
some other than the English language, I could not satisfactorily ob- 
tain their names. I find, however, the following registered : 

American seamen 272 

English do 67 

French do 27 

German do 9 

Swedish do 4 

Danish do 3 

Portuguese do 7 

Total 389 



SCHOOLS. (53 



Hundreds of seamen annually visit Honolulu. These men 
come from every nation in the world, and a chaplain can be- 
stow upon them many a portion of solid good, when no other 
man in the community can reach them by any possible means. 
For many a long year the present chaplain has toiled onward 
and upward for the good of these " sons of the ocean ;" and 
the revelations of the final day of accounts will alone be able 
to tell the amount of good accomplished in his sphere. 

One of the leading influences at the islands emanates from 
the system of education established there. In no nation on 
earth is the cause of public instruction more widely, diffused, 
or more sacredly honored and guarded. It is exceedingly dif- 
ficult to find a child ten years of age who can not read his 
Bible and other school-books fluently. Probably every native 
child at the age of twelve and fourteen can read and write 
well, and is pretty well versed in the rudiments of scholastic 
science. The proficiency of many of the common-school pu- 
pils is truly astonishing, and reflects an enviable reputation on 
their teachers, not less than upon the guardians of public in- 
struction. 



* During that year I made gratuitous donations of Bibles and 
Testaments as follows : 

To English seamen 9 Bibles and 3 Testaments. 

To American do 7 do. 2 do. 

To French do 9 do. 10 do. 

To German do 5 do. 6 do. 

To Danish do 2 do. do. 

To Portuguese do 1 do. do. 

To Welsh do 1 do. do. 

To Spanish do 7 do. do. 

Total 41 21 

" In addition, I sold several Bibles at the American Bible Society's 
prices. It is by the liberal appropriations of said society that I am 
enabled to make a gratuitous offer of the Word of Life to the seamen 
of different nations as they visit this port. Quite recently I have 
been supplied with Bibles and Testaments in the Swedish and Port- 
uguese languages, which have been frequently called for, but I have 
been unable to supply the demand." 

Since 1844 this field of usefulness has steadily widened. 



64 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

The principal institution on the group is the academy at 
Punahou (New Fountain). It is situated on the plains about 
two miles east of Honolulu, and at the foot of the highly pic- 
turesque valley of Manoa ; and its situation is as quiet as 
though it were a thousand miles from any public town. The 
institution is of a collegiate character. The youth of both 
sexes can obtain as good an education there as in any similar 
institution in the world. Attached to the academy is a li- 
brary containing hundreds of volumes of excellent reading 
matter; a noble cabinet of mineralogy, conchology, &c, and 
a very valuable collection of Polynesian curiosities. This 
school is the resort of children of many of the most respecta- 
ble foreigners scattered over the group. No person can pay 
it a visit without becoming an enthusiastic advocate of popu- 
lar education for the young ; nor can he leave it without 
leaving behind a profound esteem for its very gentlemanly 
and scholarly principal, Mr. Daniel Dole. At an examina- 
tion that occurred in the early part of 1853, and at which I 
was present, I could not conceal my astonishment at the effi- 
ciency of the pupils. I was not prepared to find so much in- 
tellectual progress in a school twenty-three hundred miles 
west of the North American Continent. In justice to the in- 
stitution and its guardians, I subjoin a programme of that ex- 
amination : 

Anthon's Caesar. 

Common School Arithmetic. 

The Lion's Hunt — translated from the French. 

Sallust. 

Greenleaf s Arithmetic. 

Story of Panthea — from the Greek. 

Sophocles' Greek Grammar and Reader. 

Geography. 

Last Battle of Jugurtha — from Sallust.* 

Weld's Latin Grammar. 

Algebra. 

The Recluse — an original story. 

Reading. 

Natural History. 

* A splendid effort, by a mere youth. 



SCHOOLS. 65 



A Voyage along a part of Hawaii. 

Physiology and History. 
Nautical and Original Declamation. 

This institution can not fail to commend itself to the friend- 
ship of the wise and good. To perpetuate his institutions, 
Draco wrote his laws with blood ; but they have all perished 
long ago ; and the very dust of the lawgiver has long since 
been scattered to the winds of heaven. But the influences 
that have been and may be wielded in this seminary of learn- 
ing shall morally and philosophically actuate the progress of 
a class of mind long after this globe shall have been reduced 
back to its primitive elements. 

Next in rank comes the Royal School. The structure is 
neatly composed of coral. It stands directly at the long pro- 
jecting base of Puahi, or Punch-Bowl Hill. As its name 
indicates, it is under the auspices of royalty. It was origi- 
nally intended as a school in which the children of distin- 
guished Hawaiian families should receive an English educa- 
tion. This design has been answered. At the time of my 
visit there were about eighty white pupils, the half castes, 
and six or eight pure Hawaiians. Among the latter were 
Victoria, a princess of the blood royal, and one or two other 
young girls of Hawaiian distinction. Their text-books are 
much of the same class as those used in the Punahou academy. 
Their intellectual progress was highly gratifying. 

Honolulu contains six other schools in which English, in its 
various departments, is taught to the children of many foreign- 
ers and natives. 

Aside from all these, there is a Town, or Charity School, that 
claims a brief notice. It was established in 1831, and had its 
origin in private instruction imparted to a young lad, son of an 
English sea-captain. In a short time it obtained accessions 
from boys who roamed the streets of the village, and in whom 
nobody seemed to take the least interest. A good foundation 
was soon laid for its future success. The king gave a lot of 
land, on which a school-house was erected by subscription. 
So influential had it become in three years from its origin, 



66 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES 



that several boys were sent to it all the way from California, 
and from the Russian settlements on the northwest coast of 
America. It subsequently became the resort of children of 
royal blood. * This school has always wielded a highly bene- 
ficial influence, as it does at this day. 

In the district of Honolulu, in 1853, there were eleven 
public schools, containing 494 scholars, under Protestant in- 
struction.! In these, as in all the Protestant schools on the 



* The followin 


g is a list of 


several of them : 




Names. 


When Born. 


Father. 


Mother. 


Adopted by 


*Alexander Liholiho 


Feb. 9, 1834. 


Kekuanaoa. 


Kinau. 


Kamehameha III. 


t Moses Kekuaiwa. . 


July 20, 1829. 


ditto. 


ditto. 


Kaikeoewa. 


£Lot Kamehameha . 


Dec. 11, 1830. 


ditto. 


ditto, [hi. 


Hoapili. 


QWm.Chas.Lunalilo 


Jan. 31, 1835. 


Kanaina. 


**Kekauluo- 




Peter Young Kaeo . . 


March 4, 1836. 


Kaeo. 


Lahilahi. 


John Young. 


James Kaliokalani. . 


May 29, 1835. 


Pakea. 


Keohokalole 


Aikanaka. 


David Kalakaua. . . . 


Nov. 16, 1836. 


ditto. 


ditto. 


Haaheo Kania. 


II Victoria Kamamalu 


Nov. 1, 1838. 


Kekuanaoa. 


Kinau. 




Bernice Pauahi 


Dec. 19, 1831. 


Paki. 


Konia. 


Kinau. 


Abigail Maheha 


July 10, 1832. 


Namaile. 


Liliha. 


Kekauonohi. 


IF Jane Loeau 


Dec. 5, 1828. 


Kalailuumoku. 




Kaukualii. 


Elizabeth Kekaniati. 


Sept. 11,1834. 


Laanui. 


Oana. 


[M.D. 


Emma Rooke 


Jan. 2, 1836. 


Naea. 


Kekela. 


T. C. B. Rooke, 


Lydia Makaeha .... Sept. 2, 1838. 


Pakea. 


Keohokalole 


Paki & Konia. 


Polly Paaaina 1 1833. 


Henry Lewis. 


Kekala. 


John Ii. 



* Rank, SfC. — Heir apparent to the crown. (The king having no children.) 
t Governor presumptive of Kauai. 

t Governor presumptive of Maui. (Now convalescing from fever.) 
t) Convalescing from fever (25th May). II Heir apparent to the premiership. 
IT Half-sister of Abigail. ** The premier. 

f Comparative Tables, showing the character and progress of 
Native Schools on the Sandwich Islands, from official sources. 



Abstract 


of Native Schools established by the American Missionaries. 




Schools. 


Teachers. | Scholars. 


Readers. 


Writers. 


Arithmetic. 


Geography. 


1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 


357 
305 
202 
346 


505 
438 
206 
294 


18,034 
15,228 

8,827 
12,678 


5,514 
5,526 
3,926 
6,569 


961 
2,254 
1,339 
2,290 


3,546 

5,448 
3,560 
6,014 


789 
1,489 
1,195 
1,936 



No return from Kailua, Kealakekua, Kau, and other schools. Many returns ap- 
pear wanting from Maui, Oahu, and Kauai. 

According to the last report, there was in Hawaii 165 schools ; in Maui, 81 ; in 
Oahu, 62 ; and in Kauai, 38. 

















Average 


Average 




Number 


Number 


Number 




Average 


Average 


Cost per 


Number 


Year. 


of 


of 


of Days' 


Total Cost. 


Cost per 


Cost per 
Scholar. 


Day of 


of Days 




Schools. 


Scholars. 


School. 




School. 


each 


to each 
















School. 


School. 










$ Cts. 


$ Cts. 


$ Cents. 


Cents. 




1848 


527 


19,028 


76,663 


20,185 75 


38 30 


1 06 


26 3-10 


145 8-10 


1849 


540 


15,620 


88,996 


21,989 84 


40 72 


1 40 7-10 


24 4-10 


164 8-10 


1850 


543 


15,308 


83,290 


25,891 96 


47 68 


1 69 


31 


153 3-10 


1851 


535 


15,482 


73,749 


25,271 08 


47 23 


1 63 


34 2-10 


137 8-10 


1852 


440 


13,948 


57,212 


24,049 07 


52 38 


1 65 


40 2-10 


130 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 57 

group, the Bible — the only bulwark of freedom, the only legiti- 
mate safeguard of the world's progress — the Bible is the lead- 
ing text-book ! 

But while the wheels of commerce rush proudly forward in 
the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, and while educational 
interests are promptly sustained, disinterested benevolence 
forms no small item in the character of the population. Mercy, 
with her heavenly smile, extends the hand of timely aid to many 
a needy individual, and pours consolation into many a sorrow- 
ful heart. Hundreds of storm-stricken and afflicted sailors, 
from every clime, have entered that port in a state of pecu- 
niary and physical need, and they are constantly coming in 
under the same circumstances. A good hospital awaits their 
reception. Every act of kindness and sympathy is there freely 
bestowed on this class of men. Good medical aid is always 
obtained, and, like a modern Samaritan, the benevolent chap- 
lain is seen going his round, with smiles of cheerfulness on a 
face bright with generous hope, visiting the sick and sorrow r - 
ful, with a Bible for one, a tract for another, and words of pa- 
ternal advice for a third. Many a son of the ocean, without 
money, home, or family ties, and on the very brink of the grave, 
has been befriended and restored there, and gone away with 
feelings of devout gratitude toward his generous benefactors. 

But there is another institution there in which benevolence 
lives and moves — for benevolence is its soul. It retains the 
attractive appellation of the " Stranger's Friend Society." 
The very name is highly significant of the Society ; it has a 
tendency to soothe the crushed spirit of every "stranger" in 
distress. And in view of the many calls of vessels at that 
port, this class of humanity is not small. In true friendship, 
even toward those whom we love, there is something inex- 
pressibly sacred. It is a plant of rare growth. It springs 
not up, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of the heart in which it 
may once have lived, but, flying beyond the darkness of the 
sepulchre, it goes back to mature and flourish forever in that 
heaven whence it sprung. Desolate indeed must that heart 
be which knows no friend ! Young has truly said, 



68 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

" The friendless master of a world is poor!" 
But friendship never becomes so divine, it never flings around 
itself a halo of glory so bright, as when it kindly takes by the 
hand a poor and afflicted stranger. Yet this is the employ- 
ment of that " Stranger's Friend Society." It is composed 
of the most distinguished and philanthropic ladies in Honolulu. 
They have their stated time and place for frequent conventions, 
when their own fair fingers fabricate useful and ornamental 
articles, which meet with a ready sale, and the proceeds are 
placed in the general fund of the Society. These proceeds 
are judiciously applied to relieve whatever needy stranger 
may be landed on their shores. It is impossible accurately 
to compute the amount of good they accomplish in this mode 
of operation. Like the immorta] Nile, conveying life and 
comfort to the thousands on its banks, ever-flowing in its 
onward course, so these ladies never tire in their errands and 
acts of mercy. 

The Society held a fair in the Court-house at Honolulu in 
1853, on the evening of the immortal Washington's birth- 
day. The articles on which they had so industriously toiled 
during the whole of the previous year were submitted for sale. 
Although the weather was exceedingly unpropitious, the occa- 
sion was handsomely represented, and the ladies of the Society, 
as they richly deserved, realized something over $1900 by the 
sales ! There were articles of every description, from a pin- 
cushion to a saddle-cloth, a lamp-mat to a carpet-rug, and Lili- 
putian socks to a gentleman's dressing-gown. 

On the judicious disposition of their funds, and the generosity 
of the Society, no better comment can be made than by pre- 
senting an extract from the first annual report by their very 
lady-like and accomplished treasurer : 

" The amount contributed to indigent and destitute seamen 
amounts to $312 50, over one half the whole sum expended, 
excepting the special contributions for the sufferers of the 
1 Independence. ' # 

* A steamship wrecked on the island of Margarita, on her passage 
from San Juan del Sur to San Francisco, 16th Feb., 1853. The per- 



CEMETERIES. 69 



11 Connected as we are with the seafaring community, this 
result was anticipated. The liberal contributions of the mas- 
ters and other officers of vessels, however, enables us to render 
such assistance with the utmost cheerfulness, not so much as 
a contribution to charity as an act of common justice. 

" The total number of persons receiving assistance from the 
Society numbers 36, many of whom, but for the aid of the 
charitable, would have suffered and died through complete 
destitution. It has been our province to be the almoners of 
the bounty so liberally intrusted to our care, and it is a source 
of congratulation that our Society, in its finances, is in so sound 
a condition, and that its ability to do good to the suffering and 
indigent stranger is not impaired for want of necessary funds. 
The two thousand dollars loaned on bond and mortgage will 
furnish a certain income of two hundred and forty dollars per 
annum, which may be estimated at one third the amount 
required to meet all demands upon our treasury for the com- 
ing year. Respectfully submitted, 

"H. H. Newcomb, Treasurer. 
"Honolulu, June 9, 1853." 

Next to the religious and benevolent associations of a peo- 
ple, the character of their public burial-places is an unfailing 
criterion of the state of their civilization. In fact, it has always 
been understood, by all nations and in all ages, that it formed 
a part of their religion properly to dispose of their deceased 
friends. With these convictions, I have usually visited the 
resting-places of the dead wherever my rambling propensi- 
ties have led me, and I have always observed that I could 
correctly estimate the characteristics of a community from 
the condition in which I found their public places of inter- 
ment. The Foreign Cemetery at Honolulu is a creditable 
comment on the intelligent advancement of the foreign com- 
munity during the last few years. It contains about five acres, 
covered with a carpet of superb grass, and is neatly inclosed. 
The land was granted by the government for this purpose in 

sons referred to in the above report were taken to the Sandwich 
Islands in a whale ship. 



70 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

1845. Before this lot was secured, " the burial of foreigners 
at that port, in a common immediately contiguous to a public 
highway, and entirely exposed to the intrusion of all sorts of 
beasts," is said to have been "revolting." Now, however, 
things are changed for the better. On entering the cemetery, 
a visitor may observe a number of family tombs, neatly con- 
structed of coral and lava stones, and surrounded by walls of 
the same materials. There are numerous graves neatly sur- 
rounded by iron railings, while others are marked merely by 
the swelling mound of grass, over which the night- winds sigh 
forth their dirges. There the dead of various nations and of 
every creed repose, side by side, in their last sleep ; every 
dispute is as hushed as the tombs in which they slumber, and 
every distinction that alternately swayed them while living is 
blotted out forever. Poor humanity ! They are all on a level 
now. This burial-ground is located about two miles up the 
Nuuanu Valley. Its position and general aspect closely har- 
monize with the lofty and majestic mountains a few miles in 
the rear, and it affords a generous retreat for virtuous reflec- 
tion. 

But there is one monument that stands distinctly apart from 
all the others. It is conspicuous, from its unpretending ap- 
pearance. It is precious, because it was placed there through 
the promptings of the undying love of a virtuous woman. It 
is a cenotaph rather than a regular monument, and contains 
the following inscription : 

" SACRED 
to the memory of 

REV. JOHN DIELL, 

First Chaplain of the American Seamen's Friend Society at this 
port, and for nine years here faithfully devoted to its service. 

In 1841, 

while on his homeward voyage to the United States, and in the full 

enjoyment of the Christian hope, he died, in the 32d 

year of his age. 

Erected by his Widow. 

' And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.' — Rev. xx., 18." 

What a touching memorial of a woman's love ! What a 



CEMETERIES. 7^ 



simply beautiful testimonial to a faithful teacher of the Chris- 
tian religion ! It speaks to a contemplative mind in tones that 
could not be suggested by the most costly mausoleum ever 
reared by the hand of wealth and power. 

The Native Cemetery impersonates native character to a 
great extent ; it is hardly any thing but a scene of wretched- 
ness and desolation. It contains about six acres. The adobe 
wall that once inclosed it is now a wreck — in many places 
leveled with the earth. In the area repose the dead of sev- 
eral generations of Hawaiians. In some places the mounds 
are discernible ; generally, however, they are leveled down by 
the trampling of cattle of every description. The old Hawaii- 
ans usually displayed a profound regard for the dead. It is 
difficult to attempt a definition of the causes which have pro- 
duced such a change within the short period of two genera- 
tions. Nothing can justify such a shameless neglect of the 
sepulchres of the departed. 

The Catholic Cemetery is about one mile out of town, on 
the road to Pmiahou. Like the native burial-ground, it was 
once inclosed by an adobe wall. I found the inclosure nearly 
all gone, and the tombs, that were composed of the same ma- 
terials, were sharing a similar fate. Several horses were tread- 
ing down the remaining mounds. A more desolate spot can 
hardly be found. On turning away to leave it, I saw a native 
patching up a pig-pen close to the tomb in which some of his 
relatives were interred. 

But of all the places set apart for the reception of the dead 
in the Hawaiian capital, no one is so interesting as the Royal 
Tomb. It is situated immediately contiguous to the palace 
grounds. The tomb is composed of a single chamber, eighteen 
feet by fourteen in the interior. Its walls are of massive coral, 
and about ten feet high ; the whole is inclosed by a high and 
heavy wall of the same material. Close around the coral in- 
closure is a rapidly maturing grove of noble shade trees, and 
among them the gentle breezes that come in from the ocean 
seem to hymn forth a requiem for departed monarchs. But 
let us enter this abode of defunct royalty. A portly, good- 



72 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

looking native produces a large key ; he is keeper of this sa- 
cred repository. The bolt obeys his effort, and the heavy door 
swings back on its rusty hinges. A collection of emblazoned 
coffins at once meets your gaze. They are covered with pur- 
ple satin, and silk velvet of the same color, and rest one above 
another on neatly-made frames of koa (Acacia falcata). The 
grave of Kamehameha, the conqueror, remains a profound se- 
cret unto this day ; but these members of the royal dead have 
been placed here since the beginning of 1825, according to the 
mode adopted by some modern nations. Their coffins are 
most scrupulously arranged, and they convey an idea of pro- 
found regard for the inviolate sanctity of their individual re- 
pose. Of this congregation of deceased royalty, I had never 
seen one while living ; and yet, standing as I did among their 
lifeless dust, an inexpressible sadness, mingled with a sense of 
awe, crept over me, and seemed to chain me to the spot on 
which I stood. There they lay, a few dusky monarchs and 
some of their descendants. They had swayed the sceptre of 
absolute despotism before I drew my first breath, and some 
of them had seen human blood flow from the mangled and 
quivering limbs of victims laid on the altars of their old gods. 
At that moment, and amid such hellish orgies, they little 
thought of the place of their repose ; they cared little as to its 
locality ; and much less did they think that a rambler from a 
distant land would stand and reflect upon their deeds as they 
lay stretched in their winding-sheets. But what of that ? 
All — every thing ! They were veritable human beings. They 
did once think and act ; but now every one of them had gone 
to " that bourne whence no traveler returns." Some of them 
had gone that long journey in the blackest gloom of pagan- 
ism ; others, under the light and influence of a divine revela- 
tion. The first royal dead interred there were Liholiho, or 
Kamehameha II. , and his consort, Kamamalu. They both 
died of measles, in July, 1824, during a visit to London (En- 
gland). The British government generously sent a frigate, 
under the command of Lord Byron, relative of the poet, to 
convey their remains back to their native islands. "When they 



ROYAL TOMB. 73 



bade farewell to the group as they started for England, they 
seemed to have an impression that they might never return. 
The young queen, as she left the shore, poured out her full soul 
into wailing, and exclaimed : 

11 heaven, earth, mountains, ocean, guardians, subjects, 
love to you all ! land, for which my father bled, receive 
the assurance of my earnest love !" 

The young king was much affected ; but, as he struggled 
against his feelings, he ordered his chiefs and people to pay 
every regard to the instructions of their Christian teachers, 
and use every exertion toward their own mental improvement. 
The vessel stood out to sea, and was soon lost from the gaze 
of the weeping multitude ; for they loved their sovereign, but 
they saw him no more — only as an encoffined corpse ! The 
remains of the royal pair are deposited in this tomb. The in- 
scription on his breast-plate is strikingly characteristic of the 
filial attachment of the Hawaiian people : 

Translation. 



Native language. 

Kamehameha II. 

Elli no nahina 6 awhai 

make I. Pelekani 28. 

Makaiki Kaiku 

I Ke maloi mua 

o Kemokakai 1824. 

Aloha Ino 
no Komakou Elii 

lOLANL 



Kamehameha IL 

King of the Sandwich Islands, 

Died July 14th, 1824, 

in the 
28th year of his age. 



May we remember 

our beloved King 

Iolanl 



But the most conspicuous of these coffins was that which 
contained the remains of the great and good Kaahumanu, the 
favorite wife of the old Conqueror. It was of immense pro- 
portions, for the Regent was a woman immensely large. But 
her vast physical bulk was a good emblem of the imperious 
tone of her character when a pagan queen, and of her Chris- 
tian deportment when a follower of the Nazarene. Never 
was there a greater change produced in a human being ; nev- 
er was a death-scene more happy than her own. Although, 
in that final hour, she was surrounded by no courtiers whose 
drapery dazzled by its Oriental magnificence, her language 

D 



74 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

and deportment would have adorned the brightest page in the 
long catalogue of Christian heroes. Precious in the sight of 
Heaven is the dust of that once imperious queen ! Before 
treading the precincts of her remains, I had seen some of the 
finely-executed monuments of the distinguished of our race ; 
but I never felt so subdued, so mortal, as then ; I never ob- 
tained a clearer view of the end of all earthly power and glo- 
ry than by the side of that coffin. I thought of the great 
Saladin, who caused to be carried before him, when being 
conveyed to the grave, his shirt (!), as all that remained of 
the once mighty ruler. And I remembered the immortal Cy- 
rus — his wars, palaces, and wealth — and the words compos- 
ing the epitaph of the great warrior came back to my memo- 
ry as vividly as if they had been written in letters of fire be- 
fore my eyes : 

" man ! whosoever thou art, and whensoever thou com- 
est (for come I know thou wilt), I am Cyrus, the founder of 
the Persian Empire. Envy me not the little earth that cov- 
ers my body !" 



CHAPTER VI. 

HONOLULU. 

Society. — Foreign Officials. — Residents, Foreign and Native. — Ha- 
waiian "Women and Dress. — False Charges refuted. — Population. — 
Police- — Militia. — Hawaiian Guards. — Houses. — Streets. — Street 
Scenes. — Honolulu at Night. — Saturday Sports. — Sunday in Hon- 
olulu. 

An attempt to sketch community-life is a difficult and del- 
icate task. An estimate that would appear strictly impartial 
to one man, might not appear so to another. A community 
may retain every national representation, or it may literally 
float on a sea of wealth ; but, unless there can be found in it 
the elements of a strict integrity of purpose, nobility of soul, 
and honorable relations between man and man, no society can 



FAULTS OF THE HONOLULUANS. 75 

be said to exist there. Domestic display, public promenades, 
evening levees, do not sanctify it. In proportion to the popu- 
lation, however, a man will find spirits as generous, and no- 
ble, and numerous in Honolulu, as in any town on earth. If 
the Honoluluans have any faults — and what community has 
not ? — they are two of rather a glaring nature. First, there 
is an almost universal and incessant tendency to " whisper" 
about each other — an evil that tends to destroy individual con- 
fidence. Again, there is almost a universal aping of what- 
ever can render them aristocratic and wmiatural — an evil that 
tends to bankruptcy and discomfort. The citizens of that 
town may be a long time coming to these conclusions, but a 
stranger sees them almost immediately on his arrival. But 
these traits are not at all uncommon to island communities, 
detached so widely from continental society ; nor will they 
ever be eradicated in Honolulu until there is wider intercourse 
maintained with the rest of the world. After all, it is ques- 
tionable if these evils are not pretty amply redeemed by many 
of the associations at which I have already glanced. 

The increasing importance of Honolulu, in its commercial 
capacity, may be seen from a list of consuls from foreign na- 
tions. They represent the 



United States (consul). 

France. 

Denmark. 

Hamburg. 



England (consul general). 

Peru (consul). 

Chili. 

Bremen. 



United States Commissioner. 
French Commissioner. 

In 1851, the Hawaiian king was well represented abroad, 
and that representation is a criterion of the national position 
of the Sandwich Islands.^ 

Between the foreign residents and the natives there is all 
the difference imaginable. Although the discovery of gold in 
California took many of the former class away, they are stead- 
ily on the increase. With the latter it is directly the reverse. 

* The Table on the following page is from the Report of the Min- 
ister of Foreign Relations for 1851 : 



76 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



The foreigners take a rational pride in paying some deference 
to fashion, or they become independent of the enslaving deity, 
and dress just as they please. The natives usually follow 
their own inclinations in regard to habits, or they tenaciously 
cling to the customs of their progenitors. As a general thing, 
the foreign residents are masters, while the natives are the 
servants of the public. This is a painful fact to contemplate. 
But so it will remain. The Hawaiians feel their inferiority ; 
and while the race survives, they will remain inferior both 
mentally and physically — the former, because ages of igno- 
rance are entailed upon them; the latter, because of disease. 
Many of them endeavor to imitate foreigners in their external 
appearance ; others, despairing of success, settle into a sort of 
apathy nearly allied to barbarism. It is extremely difficult to 
create a train of wants in the mind of a Hawaiian. 

Since my return from the group, I have many times been 
asked about the personal appearance of the Sandwich Island 
women. My uniform reply has been, and it now is, that there 
are some among them who, in point of physical perfection, 
are surpassed by none throughout the whole earth. The girls 
are women at fifteen and sixteen. Their development is rapid 
under the genial sun of the tropics. They have the Malayan 
physiology and cast of countenance ; with dark eyes, that 
seem to read the beholder's thoughts, and hair as black and 



Table of the King's Foreign Agents. 



Name. 



Date of Appointment. 



Rank and Residence. 



Archibald Barclay, Esq. . 
Edward Beyerbach, Esq. 
John Watson Bain, Esq. . 
Thos. W. Campbell, Esq. 



Thomas R. Eldredge, Esq 
J. Henry Gossler, Esq. . . . 

Joseph Jardine, Esq 

David Jardine, Esq 

James J. Jarves, Esq 

Schuyler Livingston, Esq, 

Granville S. Oldfield, Esq, 

John F. Muller, Esq 

Alfred A. Reed, Esq 



17th May, 1845, 
7th April, 1851, 
10th April, 1850, 
10th April, 1850, 



17th May, 1847, 
10th April, 1850, 
30th May, 1849, 
14th November, 1849, 

August, 1848, 

30th September, 1846, 



Appointed by Consul 
General Livingston, 
7th April, 1851, 
2d September, 1850, 



Commissioner, London. 
Consul General, Chili. 
Consul for New Zealand. 
Consul General for New South 

Wales and Van Diemen's 

Land. 
Charge d'Affaires for Peru. 
Consul General for Hamburg. 
Consul General for China. 
Consul for Hong Kong. 
Consul for Boston. 
Consul General for the United 

States. 
Vice-consul for Baltimore. 

Consul for Bremen. 
Consul for Java and the Dutch 
East Indies. 



HAWAIIAN WOMEN AND DRESS. 



77 



glossy as the wing of the raven. I have seen many of them 
on whose external beauty Nature seems to have lavished all 
her skill. From their maturity unto quite past the meridian 
of life, the women appear to think, feel, and act like school- 
girls. It is not until their beautiful tresses become mixed with 
gray that they begin to feel the coming on of life's winter. 
Then it is that they grow old rapidly, and they fade like 
flowers smitten by the chilly breath of the north. It may 
safely be asserted, that these women acquire much of their phys- 
ical perfection by frequent aquatic and equestrian exercises. 

The men present no accurate criterion on the subject of 
dress ; for in the morning they may frequently be seen sans 
every thing but what a civilized man would regard as his only 
under garment, which, in this relation, I may denominate a 
nondescript ; in the evening the same native may be seen 
neatly attired in the costume of a foreigner. A better and 
more accurate opinion can be formed in relation to the women. 
They are passionately fond of dress. Many of them must and 
will have it, at any price — even at the cost of their conjugal 
fidelity. In the gratification of their vanity, they are not un- 
frequently imposed on to a severe extent ; for when an article 
suits their fancy, they can not be denied it ; and in this case 
the philanthropic merchant will commonly tax them 600 per 
cent, beyond its real value. You may enter a native house, 
and see a vivid picture of all that can make the home of any 
human creature desolate ; and yet, at the extreme end, or near 
the centre of the domicile, you will probably observe a woman 
gayly enveloped in a loose robe composed of a rich satin or a 
valuable silk, while her favorite seat is on a mat or the hard 
cold earth. They may not have a civilized couch to repose 
on, nor a gauze curtain to save them from the ferocious attacks 
of gigantic musquitoes, but they will have their silk and satin 
drapery. And you may dress up one or any number of them 
in the richest fabrics ever created by human hands, and there 
will be a thousand probabilities against one that an uncouth 
mode of walking, or something else, will spoil their appearance. 
Among the Hawaiian women there are few graceful promen- 



78 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

aders. They always appear to most advantage when on the 
saddle. 

But while referring to native women and dress, it is neces- 
sary that the most scrupulous honesty be employed in making 
a proper discrimination. On this theme much has been said 
and written that will bear no rigid test. It has been remark- 
ed, by a recent visitor to the group, and especially in relation 
to Honolulu : "The native women are great and extravagant 
purchasers; some of them boast of possessing fifty or seventy- 
five silk and satin dresses; as I have said before, they have 
only one way of obtaining money — and it is a well-known 
and monstrous fact, that these stores are entirely sustained by 
the prostitution of the Kanaka women !" # Now all this is 
an unwarrantable denunciation, an unsubstantiated falsehood. 
Among thousands in remote lands, the Hawaiian capital has 
obtained for itself the unenviable sobriquet of " the brothel of 
the Pacific." But it is not the shameless hell that the above 
paragraph would represent. Official documents vividly por- 
tray the domestic infidelity of too many of the native women ; 
and there are too many stores there that are more than par- 
tially sustained by the avails of prostitution. This universal 
condemnation, this want of discrimination, however, is all 
wrong. If Honolulu were the only place in the world where 
such abuses of moral law exist, then the advocates of " Moral 
Reform" may thank God and go forward. But who is there 
that does not know such is not the state of things in our poor 
world ? In relation to the assertion that the native women 
have " only one way of raising money" (.') — I think that a 
candid perusal of the following document will be sufficient. 
It was handed to me by an intelligent gentleman who has 
spent many years in Honolulu, and whose name can be fur- 
nished at any moment : 

* "The Sandwich Islands, As they are, Not as they should be." 
Burgess, Gilbert, and Still. San Francisco, 1852, p. 14. 

This pamphlet is mainly correct ; the above paragraph is one of 
the very exceptionable exceptions. 



FALSE CHARGES REFUTED. 79 

" Honolulu, March 6th y 1853. 

" Dear Sir, — In answer to your question, l How do natives 
procure money?' I reply, that it is nothing but a corrupt 
mind that can assert their sources of revenue to be corrupt 
means only. And while I may not be able to enumerate all 
the occupations by which natives obtain the means of honest 
livelihood, the following come within my own knowledge. 

" Females are employed as nurses, house servants, washer- 
women, serving- women, and many are the wives of foreigners 
and natives, and are more or less employed in their own do- 
mestic concerns at home* 

" Males are employed as mechanics, such as carpenters, 
masons, blacksmiths, tailors, shoemakers, printers, book-bind- 
ers, coopers, &c, &c. ; and as market-men, butchers, and gra- 
ziers ; also as clerks, teachers, surveyors, sailors, laborers 
on plantations, day-laborers, house servants, cooks, stewards, 
herdsmen, &c, &c. Your own observation will suggest that, 
in Honolulu, a large number are occupied in supplying the 
town with vegetables, milk, fish, eggs, turkeys, hogs, ducks, 
wood, charcoal, grass for horses, and many other articles, to 
say nothing of poi for native residents who are employed as 
servants, or as laborers in the town and among the shipping, 
mechanics, &c. 

" Besides this, they receive a large amount of money during 
the year for the letting of horses, boats, and houses, while some 
of them own and sail vessels among the islands. Others cul- 
tivate their little farms, from which are raised nearly all the 
supplies for residents and shipping. Others, again, are em- 
ployed as peddlers, road supervisors, tax collectors, judges, law- 
yers, school inspectors, constables, land commissioners, jurors, 
legislators, privy counselors, &c, &c. 

" The compensation of all these classes is ample to support 
themselves and families, and varies from 25 cents to $3 per 
day for laborers and mechanics ; from $2 to $7 per week for 
house servants, and from $1 to $3 for women and domestic 
servants and sewing women. For washing they sometimes 
make from $5 to $10 per week. 



80 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

" Employ these items as your own judgment may suggest, 
and permit me to remain, with every esteem, truly yours, 



In the course of these pages I shall say something more 
about native male and female character and occupation. 

The population is composed of persons from nearly all na- 
tions. A census of the foreign residents was recently taken^ 
by the marshal of the kingdom, included within the following 
limits : from Kalihi to Waikiki, along the coast, and in the 
rear as far as the Pali. These bounds embrace the city of 
Honolulu and its suburbs, and give the entire foreign popula- 
tion. 

Males over twenty-one years of age 380 

" under " " 129 

Females over twenty-one years of age 144 

" under twelve " 118 

Colored population 21 

Chinamen in business 37 

Coolies, laborers, and servants 34 

Total 863 

It appears by the above that there are twice as many males 
as females among the foreign population, a disproportion occa- 
sioned by large numbers of young men who leave ships and 
remain here, or who come to the islands to seek their fortunes, 
as clerks, mechanics, &c. 

The foreign population has diminished within two years by 
the drain to California and the Australian colonies. The na- 
tive population embraced within the same limits is estimated 
at about eight thousand souls. 

The foreign portion of the community comprises a repre- 
sentation of the following nations : United States of America, 
Great Britain, China, Polynesia, Western Islands, France, Port- 
ugal, Germany, Sweden, St. Helena, Calcutta, Singapore, Ma- 
* Published in the "Polynesian," October 30, 1852. 



THE HAWAIIAN GUARD. gj 

nilla, Guam, and the West Indies. During the nine months 
ending 1852, seventy-four persons from the above nations took 
the oath of allegiance to the king and the Constitution. 

The police force is prescribed by law. For the island of 
Oahu, it is fixed at two hundred. There are four hundred and 
sixty scattered over the other islands of the group. The prin- 
cipal number of those retained on Oahu are centered in Hono- 
lulu. With few exceptions, they are ail native subjects, and no 
community on earth can boast a more finished set of knaves. 

There is a body of militia on the island numbering in all 
two hundred men, from fifty to two hundred of whom are re- 
served to man the fort at the capital, as emergencies may re- 
quire. Imagine, for the most part, a few lazy, shoeless, and 
stockingless fellows, with hardly spirit and skill enough to 
" shoulder arms," detached here and there over the group, and 
an idea may be partially formed of Hawaiian soldiers. These 
miserable men receive the dignified appellation o£"army!" 
Prince Alexander Liholiho is their lieutenant-general. King 
Kamehameha III. is their commander-in-chief. So says article 
twenty-seven of the Constitution of 1852. He also has com- 
mand of the "navy" — the first portion of which is not yet 
built ; for not a single war vessel of any size or description 
rides the waves of the Hawaiian seas. Imagine about seven 
hundred of said soldiers, with " eighty-seven pieces of artillery 
now on the islands," and worthless, with an unborn navy, and 
an " Annual Report" upon them and their merits, and the 
farce becomes complete at once. 

The only military force on the group in which any reliance 
may be reposed is the First Hawaiian Guard. It is composed of 
both infantry and cavalry. Its members are foreigners and the 
sons of foreigners. They are self-constituted citizen companies. 
This recent element of strength had its origin in the serious 
sailor riot of November, 1852. With the permission of the 
government, they organized themselves for the mutual defense 
of life and property. Every man finds his own horse, accoutre- 
ments, and ammunition. They are all residents of Honolulu. 

The foreigners own some very respectable residences, many 

D 2 



82 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

of which are composed of stone or coral, and some are hand- 
somely framed and finished of wood. They are neat, but not 
at all gorgeous. In such a place as Honolulu, magnificence 
is out of the question. The chief object is comfort. They are 
usually well ventilated ; but they contain no fire-places ; for 
such is the geniality of the climate,^ that none are needed. It 
has many times been maliciously reported that the houses of 
the missionaries are " luxurious," and " filled with native 
slaves." To maintain my original intention — truth in all my 
narrations — I am constrained to say these charges are untrue ; 
for their dwellings are plain and modest, especially in their in- 
terior. But of these topics I shall say more subsequently. 

Between the residences of foreigners and natives the widest 
conceivable difference exists. The dwellings owned and oc- 
cupied by chiefs afford no criterion of those occupied by the 
common natives. The latter can be understood only by actual 
inspection. When standing at a distance, and watching the 
cocoa-nut foliage wave its lovely forms over a native hut, there 
is something about it that is exceedingly romantic. On ad- 
vancing and entering it, however, the romance gives place to 
a sad reality. 

" The houses of the common people are defective in almost 
every thing which constitutes civilization. These are thatch- 
ed buildings, with the posts set in the ground, on which rafters 
are placed. They are higher than formerly, and have a prop- 
er door, instead of a hole into which the occupant could only 
crawl. Among the common people of the better sort there 
are many comfortable houses, tolerably well furnished. They 
have, besides, many respectable adobe buildings. But there 
has been less improvement in the building of houses than in 
almost any other kind of advancement toward civilization. 
This has been owing hitherto to the uncertain tenure of a 
home, and the consequent want of local attachments."! 

* See Appendix No. III. 

f " Answers to Questions proposed by his Excellency R. C. Wyl- 
lie, his Hawaiian Majesty's Minister of Foreign Relations, and ad- 
dressed to all the missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands." — P. 21. 



HOUSES — STREETS. 



83 




TtATIVE HOUSE. 



Into these abodes it is nothing unusual to see four or five 
families crowd themselves. In many instances, a few cala- 
bashes, and a mat or two to sleep on, constitute their domestic 
furniture. There is seldom any partition. In such cases, ev- 
ery thing is indiscriminate. This stern retention of ancestral 
architecture holds back with a strong hand their progressive 
civilization, and deprives them of much comfort. 

The town can boast of few well-laid-out streets. The only 
good one is that running up from the Custom-house into the 
Nuuanu Valley. All of them are more or less disfigured by 
the fragments of adobe walls built several years since, and 
which give to every object rather an ancient appearance. 
There are numerous lanes and alleys, that are so lumbered up, 
especially at night, by persons that present themselves 



84 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

" In such a questionable shape," 

that the pedestrian stands a noble chance to break his precipi- 
tate neck by stumbling over them. The natives will love ! 
and, as a general thing, with them passion is stronger than the 
restraints imposed by civil and moral law. Beneath the over- 
hanging foliage in those narrow streets, Nature has celebrated 
the nuptials of many a youthful pair of Hawaiians, the moon 
and the stars alone being witnesses to the ceremony. 

But if those narrow streets retain an aspect of antiquity, 
many of the day-scenes which occur in them are extremely 
novel to a visitor. In violation of law, some careless native, 
sans lower garments of every description, and with some half- 
worn-out sailor's jacket buttoned close up to his chin, may 
come riding past as though he had stolen the Pegasus of Nep- 
tune and Medusa, and was trying to escape pursuit. Yonder 
may be a couple of natives, who are employed as ponies or 
horses, drawing after them a sort of a box. resting on four 
wheels, and dignified by the term " carriage." The precious 
cargo of that singular vehicle is almost certain to be a foreign 
lady ! In turning a corner, you may suddenly come in con- 
tact with a group of knavish police, bearing off, as a trophy of 
victory, a single intoxicated sailor to snug lodgings in the fort ; 
or you may possibly stumble against a crowd of girls and wom- 
en clad in silks and satins, their heads fancifully adorned with 
wild flowers, and their eyes silently watching poor " Jack" as 
he is borne away from their affectionate arms ; for he may 
have spent his last dollar with some of their number. A lit- 
tle farther on, some rural lover, having just come in from the 
country with something for the market, may have met his 
inamorata ; down goes his load, while into it is inserted the 
snout of some rambling pig ; but he has thrown his arms 
around the waist and neck of his beloved, and is tasting the 
sweets of her pouting lips, forgetting that any other eyes are 
upon him. Pages might easily be filled with a description of 
the every-day scenes in the streets of Honolulu, but common 
humanity must throw a vail over them. It was to this very 
theme that Chief-justice Lee pointed when he said, " But the 



HONOLULU AT NIGHT. §5 

monster evil of the land — the one which goes to the vitals of 
this nation — is licentiousness. This subject is not a pleasing 
one ; but when we are daily called upon to witness the most 
disgusting scenes in our public streets — common prostitution 
stalking abroad at noon-day — and the nation speedily wasting 
away under our very eyes with its consuming fires, it is crim- 
inal to keep silence !' * 

Than Honolulu, no town is blessed with a more perfect 
quiet at night. This may be owing mainly to the fact that 
the Penal Code makes ample provision for the unlucky wight 
who forgets to place a strong guard over his words and actions. 
" All loud noise by night is taboo. Whoever, after sunset, 
shall, by hallooing, singing in the streets, or in any other way, 
make any disturbing or disorderly noise, in any village, town, 
or part of the kingdom, without justifiable cause for so doing, 
shall be liable to summary arrest and imprisonment by any 
constable or police officer, and, upon conviction, be punished 
by a fine not exceeding ten dollars." — (Penal Code, chap, xli., 
sec. 1.) Between the hours of nine and ten, this quiet begins. 
The town at night, and the town by day, appear like two 
different places. Except the voice of a gentle song, and the 
notes of delicious music flowing from the latticed window of 
some lady's apartment, or the unique strains of a native wail- 
ing for the dead, every sound is hushed. Were it not that the 
pedestrian meets a straggling police in search of his prey, he 
could hardly divest himself of the conviction that he is wan- 
dering among the ruins of some buried city. In another hour 
the voice of song itself ceases. Silence seems to have reared 
its throne on the brow of night, demanding an implicit obedi- 
ence to its sway. It is as if the very wheels of time stood ; 
as if Nature herself were reposing on the bosom of Morpheus. 
Woe to him who may chance to be found giving expression 
to his hilarity by way of song or even gesticulation, when all 
virtuous families are supposed to have retired for the night ! 

* First Annual Report of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 
to the Nobles and Representatives of the Hawaiian Islands, in Legis- 
lative Council assembled: 1853. 



86 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



No excuse for such deportment is admissible ; and nothing 
less than a night's lodgings in the fort, and a " fine" next 
morning, can expiate his transgression against law and order. 
With the native population, nearly over the entire group, 
Saturday is considered a sort of holiday. On the plantations 
it is pay-day for the workmen ; in the country it is a sort of 
market-day among those who fail to attend the town markets 
during the week, or who may have none to attend ; it is the 
grand gala day of the natives of Honolulu and its vicinity. 
Scores, and sometimes hundreds of men, women, and children 
meet on the plain on the east of the town, to test their horses' 
skill and their own, and to display their gaudy drapery, and, 
sometimes, the want of it. On that particular day pif the law 
against " fast-riding" is not suspended pro tern., certainly it 
is not enforced. These sports were originally adopted by the 
natives several years ago, and they are a capital substitute 




FEMALE EQUESTRIAN. 



SATURDAY SPORTS. §7 



for many of their old pagan games. They usually commence 
at 4 P.M., when the heat of the day is past. It is a scene of 
profound interest to strangers ; and were it not that the ani- 
mals are too hardly rode, it would sustain much that would 
be enjoyed. The riders are of both sexes and all ages, and 
of every variety of costume and of physical proportion, mounted 
on every variety of steed. The women and girls are decidedly 
the best riders. With them, not as with the ladies of our At- 
lantic cities, side-saddles are out of the question. In their 
loose, flowing drapery, hair streaming in the wind, their beau- 
tifully erect position, and their horses careering along like the 
march of the whirlwind, they look majestically dangerous, and 
yet they are never thrown from the saddle. There is many 
a lady in civilized nations who would envy the equestrian 
skill of these Hawaiian women. There is many a finished 
artist that would be glad to have one of them as a subject for 
his pencil. It may be owing to this mode of exercise that 
they, in part, acquire such an exquisite development of form. 
I wish I could fully portray these Saturday afternoon sports. 
Yonder, on the plain, some forty or fifty women are speeding 
almost with the rapidity of light toward some well-selected 
goal. Every nerve and muscle of both horses and riders is 
stretched to the utmost tension — the former from sheer instinct 
to gain the victory, the latter from a spirit of almost match- 
less daring, mirthfulness, and excitement. Now comes along 
a party of men and boys, many of them clinging, with their 
naked limbs, like leeches to the flanks of their foaming steeds, 
while their restless hands and arms are describing all sorts of 
circles in the air, as if under pain of dismemberment, but, in 
reality, to cheer along their animals to a swifter speed. Clouds 
of choking dust follow their wake. Here and there may be 
a mounted foreigner, quietly looking on, or sharing hi their 
mirth and sports. But yonder is a scene that defies all attempts 
at description. A few horses and donkeys, not under imme- 
diate use, but which, a few minutes since, were quietly feed- 
ing on the ever-living pasture, have caught the spirit of that 
fiery locomotion by which their compeers are impelled over 



88 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

the plain. Unable any longer to control their nature, away 
they speed, in the utmost confusion, as though their powers 
of a life-endurance were all concentrated in this single moment. 
Now they have mingled with the mounted animals, sharing 
their foam, and madly plunging through the clouds of dust, 
and endangering the life and limbs of any pedestrian who 
fails to get out of the way in time. On, on they speed, like 
fiery Arabians over their native sands, all and each one strug- 
gling for the mastery in the well-contested race for glory. It 
is well there are no toll-gates to oppose their progress, that 
their hair naturally grows fast on their heads, that they carry 
with them no superfluous garments, or, like the celebrated 
Gilpin, they might be the victims of very serious inconvenience. 

Before taking my leave of Honolulu and its scenes, I feel 
constrained to attempt a description of one of its Sabbaths, 
as I have seen it. The singular beauty of the weather that 
usually ushers in the sacred day leaves a lasting impress on 
the reflecting mind. The god of day ascends his chariot in 
the majesty of a cloudless sky. Mountains, hills, valleys, 
plains, woodlands, ocean — every thing seems to borrow a 
tinge of his golden glory. Scarcely a zephyr's breath fans 
the foliage, bespangled with the tears of the night that has 
just fled away forever. At 9 A.M. the heart-felt silence is 
awakened by the familiar tones of the church-going bell. No 
unpleasant sounds are heard, no rush or confusion disturbs 
the streets. Honolulu recognizes the quietest Sabbath on the 
face of the whole earth ! and this repose is secured by the 
enforcement of a just and righteous law. 5 * 

Let us enter the First Native Church, of which mention 
has been already made. There are nearly three thousand 

* "The Lord's day is taboo: all worldly business, amusements, 
and recreation are forbidden on that day; and whoever shall keep 
open his shop, store, warehouse, or work-shop, or shall do any man- 
ner of labor, business, or work, except only works of necessity and 
charity, or be present at any dancing, public amusement, show, or 
entertainment, or taking part in any game, sport, or play on the 
Lord's day, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten dollars." — 
Penal Code, chap, xxxvi., sect. 2. 



SUNDAY IN HONOLULU. Q9 

natives waiting to hear from the lips of their religious teacher. 
A hymn is sung. The divine benediction is sought. A pre- 
cept of Holy Writ is expounded. What a profound decorum 
reigns among that well-dressed audience ! With what marked 
respect they retire, after dismissal, to their homes ! A visitor 
may be an entire stranger to the language of those services, 
but if he has a sensitive soul in him, if he is not lost to every 
thing virtuous and sacred, he must feel the force of that un- 
pretending worship. He may be no denominationalist ; he 
may make no public profession of the sentiments of his own 
heart ; but there is something about the appearance and wor- 
ship of a Hawaiian congregation that awakens within him 
emotions no language can define, no change of time or events 
eradicate. When I glanced over that audience, and thought 
of what Hawaiian character was exactly thirty-three years 
ago(f); when I remembered that from this very church many 
a redeemed man and woman had gone up on high ; when I 
thought how, in the hour and strife of death, many of them 
had been sustained by the all-consoling presence of the Naza- 
rene, and that they now met Him, face to face, with no cloud 
to obstruct, no infirmities to afflict them any more forever — 
when I thought of these things, for once I obtained a clear 
view of that great central truth of all enlightened tenets, 
"God is love !" and I was compelled to leave that Hawaiian 
assembly, and give a full scope to my feelings ; for they were 
emotions I shall never forget, and can not describe. 

The Foreign Church and the Mariner's Bethel are now 
open. Let us visit them. They are well filled with their 
respective audiences, including a number of the "sons of the 
ocean." A soft preliminary is sung by the choir, and the 
worship commences. Hear those benedictions solicited by the 
respective pastors ! Listen to those hymns of thanksgiving ! 
Attend to those discussions of everlasting truth ! It is here 
that a visitor feels a step nearer to that heaven for which 
every spirit, in spite of itself, ardently yearns. 

Such is the Sabbath under the auspices of a Hawaiian 
king ! such the devotions of the sacred day ! Verily, those 



90 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

institutions are not far from right which recognize the Father 
of the universe, and whose supporters bend the reverential 
knee at His feet. How ennobling, how sublimely great and 
glorious are the silent and bloodless victories won by Chris- 
tianity ! 



CHAPTER VII. 

ENVIRONS OF HONOLULU. 

Nuuanu Yalley. — The Pali of Nuuanu. — Former Battle-ground. — 
Ride to Diamond Head. — Village of Waikiki. — Remains of a Pa- 
gan Temple. — Reflections on Paganism. — Leahi, or Diamond Head. 
— View from the Summit. — The Plains below. — Punch-bowl Hill 
and its Fortifications. — Panoramic View of Honolulu. — Alia-paa- 
Jcai, or Salt Lake. — Curious Theory relating to it. — Testimony of 
Commodore Wilkes, U. S. N. 

The environs of Honolulu are exceedingly picturesque, and 
among them the valley oiNuuanu ranks first. It is located 
immediately at the back of the town, from which place it has 
a gradual ascent until it reaches the famous Pali of the same 
name. The valley seems to have been formed by an abrupt 
break in the great central volcanic ridge of the island. Its 
formation is of a mixed character : its lower part is open ; its 
upper is inclosed between two heavy ridges, descending from 
the summit of Waolani on the west, and Konahiianui on 
the east. The upper part of it forms an immense level pla- 
teau of a circular form, opening toward Honolulu on one side 
and the Pali on the other. This circus is bounded on all 
sides, except where open, by tremendous precipices. The 
scenery is enchanting. Here and there a native house is seen 
peeping from between the trees. The alternating light and 
shade produced by the swiftly-flying clouds, as they are scat- 
tered or grow more dense — now rubbing the summits of the 
lofty mountains, and now sweeping over the foliage through 
which the road leads — and the fertilizing showers, reflecting 
every variety and dimension of the iris, render it a sort of a 



THE PALI OF NUUANU. 91 

fair} 7 land. These showers give birth to the fine streams that 
wend their way down the valley, watering hundreds of taro 
patches, until they reach Honolulu. On approaching the 
Pali, the mountains rise still higher, and vegetation assumes 
a richer aspect, clothing their summits with an unfading green. 
Some of these mountain tops are crystal-form. Down their 
precipitous sides cascades are seen falhng hundreds of feet, 
cleaving their way between the stunted foliage, and looking 
like huge icicles, or veins of polished silver. On the sides of 
these rugged masses, sandal wood (tantalum frey cinetia- 
rum) was once abundant, and sought for as an article of trade 
by vessels from the Orient. When, in past ages, these mighty 
masses of rock were reared on high, they were naked and sol- 
itary, presenting no feature of beauty to the eye of the first 
tenants of the valley ; but now they teem with the life of veg- 
etation and of feathered tribes, and the visitor never wearies 
in gazing upon their magnificence. 

But we have passed the singing brooks, the embowered fo- 
liage, the brilliant cascades, and we are now on the very brink 
of a naked and rugged precipice, within a few feet of the per- 
pendicular line, and eleven hundred feet high. This is the 
Pali* of Nuuanu, distinguished alike for its savage grandeur 
and its classic memorials. A narrow gorge is before you, the 
sides of which are formed by the mountains on either hand, 
nearly sixteen hundred feet above your head. Through this 
dreary gorge the trade- winds blow with almost a whirlwind 
violence. It is as though the fabled Boreas had concentrated 
all his powers against this single spot. Unless a close vigi- 
lance is maintained, the traveler's hat is whirled into the up- 
per regions, and the traveler himself may be swept from his 
position. To escape this inconvenience as soon as possible, it 
is necessary to turn the gorge by proceeding a few yards to the 
right. 

Advance to the brink ! But take care ! The visitor draws 
in a long breath ; for the momentary bursting forth of the 
scene beyond sends a thrill through his brain, and makes him 
* The Hawaiian word for precipice. 



92 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

feel dizzy. One false step, and he may be lost forever. Be- 
low his feet are scattered a few native dwellings, that dwindle 
away almost to the size of ant-hills, while the animals and 
men are scarcely perceptible. Beyond these, the plains, cov- 
ered with verdure, stretch out for miles. Further than all 
rolls the ever-swelling, azure ocean, lining the shore and the 
rocks with foam as white as the snows of winter. 

If a visitor would obtain an accurate view of this tremen- 
dous precipice, he must descend to the plain below, and wend 
his way close up to the foot of the Pali. The descent is la- 
borious, but safe, and is effected by a circuitous path leading 
down the right of the cliff. From the foot of the descent the 
view is exceedingly imposing. The summits of the mount- 
ains on either side pierce the clouds. The front of the preci- 
pice itself is hoary with the lapse of unchronicled centuries. 
Here and there it is rent in narrow fissures, the edges of which 
retain semblances of calcination, from the mildest to the most 
intense. While looking upward, the mighty mass seems as 
if it were coming down on the head of the awed visitor. 

Before the picture becomes complete, it is necessary to reas- 
cend the precipice. It is then that its terrible grandeur is 
felt. With its perspective scenery there is a strange commin- 
gling of the solitary, savage, and sublime. It is horrible to 
reflect that over this abyss a vanquished army was once driv- 
en. Yet so it was. In the summer of 1794, Kalanikupule, 
a rival of Kamehameha, determined to overthrow the increas- 
ing power of the Conqueror. Kamehameha was then at Ha- 
waii, but was apprised of the fleets that had been manned 
and sent out by the insurgent monarch. The naval expedi- 
tion proved a failure, and the king came down to Oahu. The 
two armies met in the valley of Nuuanu. The insurgents 
were compelled to flee before the victorious party. As they 
approached the Pali, Kalanikupule and a few of his follow- 
ers escaped to the mountains, but were subsequently taken 
and put to death. The rest of the army — three thousand in 
number — were driven over the frightful abyss, where father, 
brother, friend, foe, and their implements of war, shared a gen- 



VILLAGE OF WAIKIKI. 93 

eral wreck. And yet, at the time of my visit, the sun shone 
as gloriously over the brow of this old precipice as though it 
had never re-echoed the war-cry, or been baptized by Pagan 
blood shed in battle. 

The most conspicuous object in the vicinity of Honolulu is 
the old coast-crater, called Leahi, or Diamond Head. It is 
nearly six miles east of the town, and stands close to the sea- 
shore. It is approached either by sea or land, but the land 
route is the most pleasant and agreeable. The road leads very 
near the shore, winding through numerous fish-ponds and taro 
patches, formed by hands that have long since crumbled away 
to dust. Within a mile of the crater's base is the old village 
of Waikiki. It stands in the centre of a handsome cocoa-nut 
grove, among whose feathery foliage the soft winds from the 
ocean produce a gentle, murmuring music. There is a fine 
bay before the village, in whose waters the vessels of Van- 
couver and other distinguished navigators have anchored. 

Waikiki was once the abode of that Hector of the Hawaii- 
ans, Kamehameha the Great. The old stone house in which 
the great warrior once lived still stands, but it is falling into 
a rapid decay. I could not help lingering for a time to notice 
the objects scattered around. There were no busy artisans 
wielding their implements of labor ; no civilized vehicles bear- 
ing their loads of commerce, or any living occupant. But be- 
neath the cool shade of some evergreens, or in some thatched 
house, reposed several canoes. Every thing was as quiet as 
though it were the only village on earth, and its tenants the 
only denizens. A few natives were enjoying a promiscuous 
bath in a crystal stream that came directly from the mount- 
ains, and rolled, like another P,actolus, to meet the embrace of 
the ocean. Some were steering their frail canoes seaward. 
Others, clad simply in Nature's robes, were wading out on the 
reefs in search of fish. Here in this quiet hamlet, once un- 
known to all the world, Kamehameha I., surrounded by his 
chieftains, held his councils for the safety and consolidation of 
his kingdom. But the " mene" so mysteriously inscribed on 
the palace walls of a Babylonian monarch, has been written 



94 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

on those councils ; and the old ■ king and his warriors have 
faded away. Mutation is legibly written on the face of all 
that is terrestrial ; and the savage ruler, not less than the civ- 
ilized, must bow to Death's all-powerful summons. 

Just beyond Waikiki stand the remains of an ancient heiau, 
or pagan temple. It is a huge structure, nearly quadrangular, 
and is composed merely of a heavy wall of loose lava stones, 
resembling the sort of inclosure commonly called a " cattle- 
pen." The temples dedicated to the Hawaiian gods were al- 
ways roofless. The altars were rudely reared in the same 
way, and composed of the same materials as the walls of the 
main inclosure. This heiau was placed at the very foot of 
Diamond crater, and can be seen at some distance from the 
sea. Its dimensions externally are 130 by 70 feet. The walls 
I found to be from six to eight feet high, eight feet thick at 
the base, and four at the top. On climbing the broken wall 
near the ocean, and by carefully looking over the interior, I 
discovered the remains of three altars located at the western 
extremity, and closely resembling parallelograms. I searched 
for the remains of human victims once immolated on these 
altars, but found none ; for they had returned to their primi- 
tive dust, or been carried away by curious visitors. But my 
fancy conjured up the deeds of some of the high-priests of pa- 
ganism. It seemed as though I could see one of these de- 
ceived and deceiving torturers before me, with his demoniacal 
visage, his arm bared, his uplifted Jiand grasping the instru- 
ment of death, and the human victim lying on the bloody al- 
tar. I seemed to behold the vast audience awaiting, with a 
death-like silence, the fatal blow, and to hear the agonizing 
groans of the expiring victim. ,And when I remembered that 
once these very tragedies were enacted, and on these ruined 
altars too, my heart sickened, and I sprung out of the inclo- 
sure. 

To a traveler visiting the Hawaiian group at this day, it 
seems almost impossible that such scenes could have been en- 
acted at any period in the past. Such relations appear to re- 
tain the character more of the old shadowy myths of the peo- 



Si 




PIIIIP 



REFLECTIONS ON PAGANISM. 97 

pie, than positive realities that existed from time immemorial 
until the fall of idolatry in 1819. But those relations are 
facts. There are a few persons now living who once wit- 
nessed many of those hellish orgies, and whose own family 
friends were victims. The hierarchy of the group, like every 
hierarchy that now exists, was exceedingly oppressive. It is 
impossible to conceive how any nation of men could have been 
brought under a rule so crushing and absolute. But of all 
despotisms, none are so absolute or unjust as those which de- 
prive men of the free and legitimate exercise of their own con- 
sciences. Such was the condition of the common people on 
those islands, between thirty and forty years ago. It was des- 
potism systematized and extended to every man, woman, and 
child, that did not belong to the priests and king. The people 
had to build the temples ; go to the mountains, and cut down 
and carve wood into idols ; and, of their poverty, bring the 
offerings, of whatever character, to the altars of the gods. The 
nature of those ceremonies was such, that it was impossible 
that some person or persons should not violate them, and, in 
that case, death was the penalty. There were omens of such 
a character that they could easily be construed to signify that 
any number of men were required as offerings to the gods, and 
the requisition was always granted. In this way countless 
multitudes have perished, family ties been severed, and their 
wretched abodes rendered more desolate than ever. Who 
shall enumerate the evils sustained, the agonies endured, the 
moments of despair struggled against by men in every age, and 
under every species of oppression, where every just and noble 
consideration has been trampled in the dust by the heel of 
temporal or spiritual power ! 

Having reached Diamond Head, the visitor may ascend its 
summit without much difficulty. The ascent is most easily 
accomplished on the northeast side. To a man who can 
boast of pretty strong limbs, the task is trifling. On reaching 
the brink, the eye rests on a mere pit, or cavity, two hundred 
feet deep, and two thirds of a mile in diameter. The highest 
point of this old crater is on the southwest side, where it is 

E 



98 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

nearly a thousand feet above the sea. Nearly all round the 
rim of the crater, but especially on the southwest, large cal- 
careous incrustations abound. The bottom of the crater was 
covered with a fine pasture, on which a herd of cattle and 
horses was feeding, and in the centre was a shallow lake of 
clear fresh water. The outside of the hill is deeply marked 
by the course of ancient lava streams. Immense masses of 
lava are found at its seaward base, heavily mingled with beds 
of coral. It is very evident that this crater has been much 
higher than it is now, and that it has become much wasted 
in expending its fires. 

Although this quiescent crater is not very lofty, the view 
from its summit is fine, and well repays the curiosity of any 
enthusiastic adventurer. On the east, and skirting the sea- 
shore, are seen the remains of two other craters, long since 
extinct, and highly picturesque. Honolulu, the harbor and 
shipping, the distant range of the Kaala Mountains, and the 
contiguous village of Waikiki, fill up the view on the west. 
The rugged chain of mountains skirting the eastern limit of 
the Pali, and immense table-lands or slopes, formed by an- 
cient rivers of lava, and now covered with good pasture, em- 
brace the scenery on the north. Stretching away to the south, 
the ocean heaves its placid bosom, so strangely beautiful that 
it would seem impossible for the noble element ever to be- 
come so treacherous. Whoever has seen this old landmark 
can never forget it. Many a storm has swept over it. But 
there it stands ! a guide to the mariner, and a monument of 
Nature's wrath and power. 

Descending the crater on the north side, and following a 
narrow and very rugged path, I was soon led on the plains 
below. Had it not been owing to the deep grass, the scene 
would have been one of the most perfect desolation. Im- 
mense stones of lava of every shape, and many of them sev- 
eral tons in weight, lay in confusion over this plain, and were 
interspersed with indigo and other plants. Over some of those 
huge masses of volcanic rock the delicate convolvulus ( Con- 
volvulus tricolo?') was creeping. Here and there was a gi- 



PUNCH-BOWL HILL. 



99 



gantic specimen of the prickly-pear ( Cactus ficus Indicus) 
struggling against the surrounding desolation. Upon this 
plain it would almost seem as if the neighboring crater had 
expended all its force. One is forcibly reminded of the pas- 
sage which so plainly foretold the utter desolation of Idumea : 
" I will stretch out upon it the line of confusion and the stones 
of emptiness !" 

The path, leading directly over the plain conducted me at 
length to the foot of Puahi, or Punch-Bowl Hill. Like 
Leahi, or Diamond Hill, it has long been quiescent, but it re- 
tains a more youthful appearance than the latter, and looks 




PUNCH-BOWL HILL. 



XOO SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

as though it may burst forth again without a single moment's 
warning to the quiet town below. As the highest point is 
but five hundred feet above the sea, the ascent is comparative- 
ly easy. Many of the pupils in the royal school, located at 
its base, climb it for recreation during a recess of their studies. 
What may be called its summit is a huge concave, nearly 
half a mile wide, and covered with a luxurious pasture. This 
concavity originates the English name of the old crater. If 
a supply of water could be obtained regularly to irrigate the 
soil — which is decomposed lava — the summit would make a 
snug little farm. At the time of my visit, numbers of fine 
cattle were quietly browsing on the pasture, and large flocks 
of wild and tame goats were feeding on the most precipitous 
sides of the hill. While sitting on a gun, taking notes of the 
objects around me, a flock of the latter class of animals ap- 
proached me, bleating, and seemed to chide me for disturbing 
the repose of their elevated retreats. On attempting to get 
near them, they scampered away over the grassy depressions 
of the crater. 

The physical character of this hill closely resembles that of 
Leahi. That portion of the summit which overlooks the val- 
ley of Nuuanu is mainly a huge mass of calcareous lava, and 
constitutes a good building material, much of which has been 
already dislodged for that purpose. The seaward side of the 
hill is deeply marked by channels down which the fiery streams 
of devastation once rolled in fearful volume. 

The hill itself occupies a commanding position. On the 
heights nearest Honolulu are the remains of a fortress that was 
once deemed impregnable. In all, it mounts eleven guns, 
pointing different ways, at irregular distances from each other, 
along the nearly perpendicular edge of the hill. Of these guns, 
five are long iron thirty - two - pounders, three are long iron 
twelves, and three short nines. Every one of these imple- 
ments of defense were drawn up by native hands during a 
despotic rule. They rest on carriages in a state of rapid de- 
cay. Some of the larger retain the initials of the last King 
George of England ; also the Crow's Foot (/£y), or governmental 



PANORAMIC VIEW OF HONOLULU. JQ1 

mark, and a crown. They are used more for firing salutes on 
the birth-day of the present king than for any other purpose. 
The flag-staff is nearly demolished, and its present appearance 
is highly indicative of the state of the circumscribed kingdom 
whose ensign once waved at its top. I saw two or three 
wretched hovels in a wrecked condition ; yet they had once 
been the homes of a few miserable soldiers detained there to 
watch the garrison. These hovels, the ruined flag-pole, and 
a thin shell of a powder magazine — lathed a?id plastered on 
tlie outside /—completed the fortress that was originally in- 
tended to protect the town, the harbor, and its shipping. Now 
the only tenants of the lofty battlements are the goats in 
search of their subsistence. The hill itself, though precipi- 
tous, is assailable in several parts, and, unless made bomb- 
proof, by shells in all. Though capable of being strongly for- 
tified, to render it tenable it would require a very large garri- 
son. But the present condition of the finances, and the imbe- 
cility with which the financial department has hitherto been 
managed, are a sufficient guarantee that, for some time at 
least, things will remain as they are, or will become more 
hopeless. 

From the top of Punch-bowl a fine panoramic view is ob- 
tained of Honolulu, that quietly reposes at its base. A stran- 
ger can hardly reconcile this seeming indifference to a contig- 
uous object, whose deep womb was anciently torn by rivers and 
cataracts of vengeful fire ; for the citizens of Honolulu treat it 
as though it were a fable ; and yet there is no guarantee that 
Pele* may not pay them another of her terrible visits. But 
the people either think or care nothing for this ; nor need they. 
The relative position of the town to this extinct crater is that 
of Pompeii to Yesuvius. Hundreds of taro patches meet the 
gaze. The town, with its public buildings, churches, private 
dwellings, and narrow streets ; and the harbor, with its ship- 
ping at anchor, and numbers of boats and canoes gliding over 
its surface, are brought, as it were, into a focus. Natives may 
be seen bathing in the streams, or washerwomen may be dis- 
* The chief goddess of volcanoes. 



102 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

covered at their toil by the margin of the same streams ; and 
it is amusing and instructive to watch the motions of those 
that occupy the streets, on horse or afoot, wending their way 
as business or pleasure may dictate. The best time, however, 
to obtain a good view of such a scene is at the hour of early 
evening twilight. 

Four miles west of Honolulu, and very near the sea-shore, 
is the celebrated salt-lake called by the natives Alia-paakai. 
It is about one third of a mile in diameter, and is of a crateri- 
form character, rather inclined to oval. The hills that sur- 
round it are rather more than a hundred feet high, and their 
sides appear to be more or less impregnated with saline sub- 
stances. The bottom of the lake is composed of an exceed- 
ingly adhesive mud of a blue-black color, having the chief 
properties of an unctuous clay. The whole region of the lake 
is strictly volcanic, and, although contiguous to the ocean, is 
entirely different from the formative character of all the coast 
craters on the island. 

Until very recently, a self-formed salt was found there in 
great abundance. It was considered an excellent salt for 
putting up provisions for the market and shipping. It was 
also used as a table-salt over the larger portion of the group, 
and commanded a high price. Formerly it belonged to the 
king, and its yield afforded him a good revenue. Vessels 
came annually from the Russian settlements on the North- 
west coast, and from other parts of the Continent, to obtain 
supplies. The trade, however, has fallen off. Although the 
salt has almost wholly disappeared, it is still found in small 
quantities in the lake, in a crystallized state. 

Extensive salt-works are now carried on at Puloa, a few 
miles westward of the lake, by an enterprising citizen of Hono- 
lulu. The process is by evaporation. 

Marvelous things have been related of this salt-lake. They 
may have had their origin in some superstitious legends of the 
natives, but they have been gravely treated by history, and at 
this day are firmly believed by many citizens of Honolulu. 
The lake itself is said to be elevated " a few feet above the 



TESTIMONY OF COMMODORE WILKES. 1Q3 

level of the sea," and that "near the centre a hole exists, 
five to six fathoms in circumference, which, as no bottom 
has been found to it, is supposed to connect with the ocean. 
Through this the lake is slightly affected by the tides. "^ 

Supposing such a statement to be correct, and, from its 
direct opposition to all precedents in natural philosophy, look- 
ing upon it as pointing to an extraordinary natural phenome- 
non, I felt exceedingly desirous of seeing it for myself. My 
first journey was performed merely to survey the physical 
conformation of the region immediately contiguous. On the 
second time of my going there, however, I was better prepared 
to conduct my researches. As my plan of operations was 
closely consonant with that of Commodore Wilkes, U. S. N., 
who commanded the U. S. Exploring Expedition to the Ha- 
waiian and other islands in Polynesia, and who conducted an 
examination of this lake in November, 1840, 1 can best present 
my conclusions by citing his own language on this subject : 

" The salt-lake, so much spoken of, was visited many times. 
It has excited a good deal of curiosity, being supposed to be 
fathomless, and to ebb and flow with the tide. 

" I landed near the foot of the hills which inclose the salt- 
lake, and leveled from low water mark upward, over the hill, 
and down to the lake. The result gave one hundred and five 
feet rising, and one hundred and three feet falling, which proves 
it to be on the same level as half tide. Some natives carried 
over a canoe to the lake, in which I embarked, well provided 
with long sounding-lines, to ascertain its reputed depth. Aft- 
er much search, no fathomless hole was to be found, and no 
greater depth than eighteen inches ! To find out if it ebbed 
and flowed was the next step. For this purpose, sticks were 
placed on the shore, which is so shelving that a small perpen- 
dicular rise and fall would be quite evident. A little rise above 
the tide-sticks took place, but nothing beyond what would be 
occasioned by the wind, which had sprung up, blowing the 
water to the lee side. 

* "Jarves's History of the Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu, 184*7." 
Third edit p. 11. 



104 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

Af. JZ- «W- ■it. -V- -if- 

tv* "7v* w w w "ir 

" The lake, after the discovery relative to its being but knee- 
deep, was the subject of much discussion at Honolulu. It was 
visited on several occasions afterward, to ascertain if it had an 
ebb and flow, and simultaneous observations were made at the 
shore and in the lake, but all the trials confirmed the first 
observations."^ 



CHAPTER VIII. 

JOURNEY TO KUALOA. 

Plains of Kaneohe. — Konahuanui Mountains. — Geological Features. 
— Probable Formation. — Site of an old Pagan Game. — A Legend. — 
Missionary Station at Kaneohe. — Christianized Natives. — "Month- 
ly Concert." — Residence of the Missionary, and Style of Living. — 
Road along the Sea-shore. — White Man turned Savage. — Singular 
Coral-reefs. — Fish-ponds. — Women as Laborers. — Driving Hogs to 
Market. — Simplicity of Native Manners, and Domestic Life. — A 
solitary Grave. — A Hawaiian Patriarch. — Thoughts on early 
Races. — A Native Judge. — Taro Plantations. — Taro as an article 
of Food. — How converted into Poi. — Kualoa. — Sunset.— Night. 

From Honolulu to Kualoa, the most direct route is over the 
Pali, from whose rugged brow it is distinctly seen in the dis- 
tance. From the precipice, the plains below present the feat- 
ures of a fine landscape. They are marked by heavy undula- 
tions, and rent in many places by shallow ravines. Hundreds 
of cattle may be seen feeding on the rich pasture with which 
these plains are covered, adding to the landscape an exquisite 
finish. To render this location a second Eden, the right kind 
of men and sufficient capital are needed. 

That ridge of mountains termed Konahuanui may be class- 
ed among the most sublime mountain scenery in the world. 
There are chains of hills more lofty and extensive, but proba- 

* " United States Exploring Expedition, during the years 1838, 
1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842. By Charles Wilkes, U. S. N. Lea and 
Blanchard, Philadelphia, 1845." Vol. iv., p. 82, 83. 



GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 105 

bly none more curiously formed or strikingly beautiful. Their 
sides toward the plains are composed of continuous precipices, 
in some places retreating so as to form gigantic amphitheatres. 
In some places their sides are strongly marked by heavy ribs 
of rock rising from the plain and reaching the highest peaks 
of the chain, and looking like huge buttresses placed there by 
the hand of Nature. The general direction of this chain is 
north, thirty-five degrees west ; the average height is one thou- 
sand six hundred and thirty-eight feet above the level of the 
sea. At intervals they approach within two miles of the sea ; 
agahi they retreat a long distance toward the centre of the 
island. On the front of some of these gigantic pedis, glittering 
cascades come tumbling down in playful gambols, having their 
source in the immediate region of the clouds, and occasionally 
lost in the overhanging foliage. Wherever the traveler turns 
his footsteps or directs his gaze, he is sure to find something 
that will amply reward his researches and excite emotions of 
sublimity. 

The geological features of this range of mountains are re- 
plete with a solid interest. They are composed of basaltic, 
cellular, and tufaceous lavas. The basaltic, in many places, 
is porous and scoriform, and sometimes the substrata are as 
compact as any of the basaltic formations close to the ebbing 
and flowing of the tide ; or entirely the reverse may be seen, 
where scoriae almost as cellular as pumice form the stratum 
beneath compact beds of porphyry, having a dark blue basis 
composed of crystals of glassy feldspar and olivine. 

The cellular formation is a sort of mixed pumice and slag. 
In every one of the cellular varieties the cavities are empty ; 
in others they are filled with olivine crystals partially decom- 
posed. This lava is frequently mingled with white feldspar 
of a dull lustre, that imparts to the front of the rocks a spot- 
ted appearance. The more common color of these lavas is an 
ashy gray ; but it not unfrequently assumes a reddish tint, a 
brownish red, and sometimes a cochineal-red color. 

Then comes the tufaceous lava, of a more interesting char- 
acter than all the others. This species varies much in con- 

E 2 



106 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

sistency, but it is usually loose and friable. It is probably 
owing to this geognostic structure that the celebrated Pali of 
Nuuanu has derived its formation, under the almost incessant 
action of the northeast trade- winds and frequent heavy rains, 
and it is this kind of lava that forms so prominent a part in 
the physiognomy of the chain. The bases of some of these 
tufas is earth, or compact mud, of nearly every variety of col- 
or, but mostly of a light orange red. 

An exploration of these rocks is difficult and uncertain. 
The laws which would test the age of continental rocks would 
here be worse than useless, as they would tend only to the 
most profound perplexity. In one location, the huge mass of 
mountain approaches the scoriform ; in another, scoriform and 
the more compact specimens are placed immediately contigu- 
ous one to the other. The law that would determine the age 
of these mountains simply by their degree of compactness rests 
on a very feeble foundation, and constitutes one of those am- 
biguities that sometimes cling to the favorite and most popu- 
lar questions of every age in the history of science. 

That the Konahuanui chain has been anciently originated 
by volcanic agency, is evident from the very slightest investi- 
gation of their physical character. The chain itself has been 
a series of craters ; and their present appearance, although of 
long standing, has been effected by mighty earthquakes that 
shook the island to its centre, rending the mountains asunder, 
and leveling the seaward side of these old craters down to 
the plains below. This theory best explains the cause of 
those heavy undulations of which the plains are mostly formed. 
Before reaching the mission station at Kaneohe, the road leads 
through a narrow but fertile ravine, tenanted by a few na- 
tives. In leaving the ravine, a low round hill, to the right 
of the path, is rather conspicuous from a long, narrow depres- 
sion or channel on its side. It was an indication that one of 
the favorite games of the old Hawaiians had been played there. 
This game was called the holtta* and was one of their favor- 
ite games at chance. Both chiefs and common people freely 

* Sliding down hill. 



A LEGEND. JQ7 



mingled in it. No particular spot monopolized it. The game 
itself may very properly be designated, in modern phraseology, 
the shding-down-hill game, for it had a close affinity to the 
sports indulged in by the school-boys of the northern towns 
and cities in the United States, when the streets are frozen, 
and they glide down them on their sleds. The smooth sward 
of any suitable declivity was made to answer, in some degree, 
the advantages of ice and snow. A trench was dug from the 
top of the hill to the bottom, and carried out some distance 
over the adjoining plain. This was made quite smooth, and 
spread over with grass to aid in the velocity of the descending 
sled. It is said that the sliders would frequently get carried 
nearly a mile along the trench. 

{This amusement was attended with a great hazard of life, 
and great skill and courage were required properly to fit a man 
for such an enterprise. Many of these slopes were on an angle 
of forty-five degrees ; and woe to the man who rolled from his 
sled, or whose sled got out of the trench ! Death was the 
penalty, or the unlucky slider was maimed for life. If the 
players escaped unhurt, many of them lost their all in betting. 
On their skill in the sport, it was nothing unusual for them 
to stake their property to the very last article — their clothes, 
food, crops, lands, wives, daughters, husbands, and even the 
very bones of their arms and legs, to be converted, after death, 
into fish-hooks and arrow-heads. 

Many were the legends treasured up by the natives relative 
to some of the results of this game. As an instance of their 
mental character and superstitious fear, I cite one as recorded 
by Ellis : 

" In the reign of Kealiikuku, an ancient king of Hawaii, 
Kahavali, chief of Puna, and one of his punahele (favorite 
companions), went out one day to amuse themselves at the 
holtta, on the sloping side of a hill, which is still called l Ka 
holua ana O Kahavali' (the sliding- place of Kahavali). 
Vast numbers of people collected at the hill to witness the 
sport, and a company of musicians and dancers repaired to 
the spot to add to the amusement of the spectators. 



108 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

" The buskined youths had begun their dance, and, amid the 
sound of the drums and the songs of the musicians, the holua 
commenced between Kahavali and his favorite. Pele, the 
goddess of the volcano, came down from Kilauea to witness 
the sport. She stood on the top of a hill, in the form of a 
woman, and challenged Kahavali to slide with her. He 
accepted the offer, and they set off together down the hill. 
Pele, less acquainted with the art of balancing on the nar- 
row sledge than her rival, was beaten, and Kahavali was 
applauded by the spectators as he walked back up the sides 
of the hill. Before they started again, Pele asked him to 
give her his papa* Supposing from her appearance that 
she was only a common woman, he said, • Aole (no) ; are 
you my wife, that you should obtain my sledge ?' and, as if 
impatient at being delayed, he adjusted his papa, ran a few 
yards to take a spring, and then, with all his might, threw 
himself upon it, and shot down the hill. Pele, incensed at 
his answer, stamped on the ground, and an earthquake fol- 
lowed which rent the hill asunder. She called, and fire and 
liquid lava arose, and, assuming her natural form, with these 
irresistible ministers of vengeance she followed him down the 
hill. When Kahavali reached the bottom of the hill, he saw 
Pele, accompanied by thunder and lightning, earthquake and 

* The papa, or sled, was composed of two narrow runners, from 
seven to twelve, and sometimes eighteen feet long, two or three 
inches deep, highly polished, and, at the foremost end, tapering off 
from the under side to a point at the upper edge. These two run- 
ners were secured together by a number of short pieces laid hori- 
zontally across. To the upper edge of these short pieces two long 
sticks were fastened, extending the whole length of the cross-pieces, 
and about five or six inches apart. Sometimes a narrow piece of 
mat was fastened over the whole upper surface, except three or four 
feet at the foremost end. At the foremost part there was a space of 
about two inches between the runners, but they gradually widened 
toward the hinder part, where they were distant from each other 
about five inches. The person about to slide grasped the small side- 
stick firmly with his right hand, ran a few yards to the brow of the 
hill, where, with all his strength, he threw himself forward, fell flat 
upon his sled, and shot down the trench. 



A LEGEND. ^Q9 



burning lava, closely pursuing him. He took up his broad 
spear, which he had stuck in the ground at the beginning of the 
game, and, accompanied by his friend, fled for his life. The 
musicians, dancers, and crowds of spectators were instantly 
buried beneath the fiery torrent, which, bearing on its fore- 
most wave the enraged goddess, continued to pursue Kaha- 
vali and his friend. They ran till they came to an eminence 
called Buukea. There Kahavali threw off his tuilai (cloak 
of netted ti leaves), and proceeded toward his house, which 
stood near the shore. He met his favorite hog Aloipuaa, 
saluted him by touching noses, and said, 'Alolia ino oe; eia 
ilwnei paJia oe e make ai; he ai mainei Pete — (Compassion 
great to you ; close here, perhaps, is your death ; Pete comes 
devouring !)' Leaving him, he met his wife, Kanakawahine. 
He saluted her. The burning torrent approached, and she 
said, ' Stay with me here, and let tcs die together? He re- 
plied, ' No ; I go, I go.' He then saluted his two children, 
Paupoulu and Kaohe, and said, ' Ke ue nei an ia olua — (I 
grieve for you two !)' The lava rolled near, and he ran till 
a deep chasm arrested his progress. He laid down his spear, 
and on it walked over in safety. His friend called out for his 
help. He held out his spear over the chasm ; his companion 
took hold of it, and he drew him securely over. By this time, 
Pele was coming down the chasm with accelerated motion. 
He ran till he reached the place where one of his sisters was 
sitting. He had only time to say, 'Koae, aloha oe! — (Alas 
for you !)' and then ran on to the sea-shore. His younger 
brother had just landed from his fishing canoe, and had run 
up to his house to provide for the safety of his family, when 
Kahavali arrived. He and his friend leaped into it, and with 
his broad spear paddled out to sea. Pele, perceiving he had 
escaped, ran to the shore, and hurled, with prodigious force, 
huge stones and fragments of rocks after him, which fell 
thickly around, but did not strike his canoe. When they had 
paddled a short distance from the shore, the kumukahi (east 
wind) sprung up. He fixed his broad spear upright in the 
canoe, which, answering the double purpose of mast and sail, 



HO SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

he soon reached the island of Maui. There they rested one 
night, and proceeded to Lanai. On the following day he 
removed to Molokai, and from thence to Oahu, the abode of 
his father and sister, to whom he related his disastrous perils, 
and with whom he took up his permanent abode. "* 

Kaneohe (from u kane" male, and "ohe" bamboo) is a 
small and scattered village, and contains a branch of the 
American Protestant Mission. It is about three miles from 
the foot of the Pali, and commands a fine view of the sur- 
rounding plains and adjacent mountains. The mission in 
this place was established in 1834. The chapel is a very 
neat structure, 95 by 50 feet. The walls are solidly built of 
black lava, united with cement made out of the coral pro- 
cured from the reefs on the neighboring shore, and burned 
into lime. Nearly all of this fabric is native workmanship, 
and it would be a credit to good mechanics in many older 
countries. The Hawaiians soon become adepts in the me- 
chanic arts ; and it may be owing to the fact that their facul- 
ties are more imitative than creative, for they will copy almost 
any thing they see the white man do. 

The impressions produced on my own mind, while staying 
at Kaneohe, were highly favorable to the Christianity profess- 
ed by the natives. External action is not always a criterion 
of internal character. The act may be balanced in the scales 
of reason and justice, while the motive which prompted it 
may remain as unfathomable, to the eye of a mortal, as eter- 
nity itself. It was not for me, therefore, to decide that the 
motives of the Christianized natives at Kaneohe were or were 
not rightly founded. But their deportment was unexception- 
able ; their close attention to the teachings of the missionary 
highly commendable ; and it appeared yet more so when I 
remembered that, not many years ago, these very plains, oc- 
cupied by the fathers of the present generation, re-echoed the 
shouts of warriors mingling in barbaric warfare. The punc- 
tuality with which these people attend to their Christian du- 
ties is remarkable. On the Sabbath, at sunrise, they always 
* "Ellis's Tour round Hawaii in 1823," p. 168-171. 



CHRISTIANIZED NATIVES. Jll 

meet for prayer and mutual instruction. Nor does this early- 
hour of devotion afford them any design to stay away from the 
more public and subsequent duties of the day. Hundreds of 
well-dressed natives — men, women, and children — many of 
whom come six or seven miles, may be seen thronging the 
chapel to listen to their teacher. 

When we speak of Christianized natives, or of Hawaii be- 
ing a Christian nation, it must be regarded in the same light 
as though we were speaking of the United States as being a 
Christian nation, and in no other sense of the expression. In 
the former nation, as in the latter, there is mueh nominal 
Christianity, much to condemn, much to approve ; for human- 
ity, from the cradle to the grave, is a singular combination of 
good and evil. There is not a more difficult task to which a 
philanthropist can apply himself, than to instil pure morals 
into the heart of a South Sea Islander. The chief cause for 
wonder, then, is not that the Hawaiians are not all Christians 
from a thorough transformation of character, but that so many 
Christians are found among them. There is that in native 
character which can rarely, if ever, be entirely effaced : it is 
the deadly upas of corrupt morals, inherited, through their 
forefathers, from many generations past. To purge away this 
natural and deeply-rooted corruption, and implant within them 
a sensitive conscience — a conscience alive to the discharge of 
every moral obligation — is as difficult as an attempt to blot 
out the spots of the leopard, or to wash the dusky hue from 
off the skin of the Ethiopian. But this change of character 
has been effected, and it will be effected again. The remark 
may be repeated, that, among the Hawaiians, the greatest 
wonder is that so many of them are Christians. It is a well- 
understood truth, that 

" A thousand years scarce serve to form a state : 
An hour may lay it in the dust." 

England has been more than thirteen hundred years in attain- 
ing her present eminence among the nations of the earth. 
Centuries had swept over the " Seven-hilled City" before the 
glory of the Augustan age shed its rays on Rome. History 



112 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

tells us of states and nations that struggled, for hundreds of 
years, amid a sort of semi-civilization, and then went out like 
the dying flame of a midnight taper. When it is remember- 
ed that thirty -jive years (!) have not yet fled since efforts 
were commenced to civilize and Christianize the Hawaiians, 
who, for centuries past, had, as a race, been buried in the 
blackest midnight of debasement that has ever afflicted a por- 
tion of our race, may it be expected that so short a period is 
adequate to efface the last vestiges of mental and moral dis- 
ease ? No, verily ! And that man, or class of men, who can 
mistake a point so vital as this, have not learned the alphabet 
of human nature. 

I have already spoken of native Christians at Kaneohe. 
That is a quaint old saying which assures us we may judge 
of a tree by the fruit it produces. On the same philosophical 
principle we may form our opinions of men. It was on this 
ground that I formed an estimate of native character at this 
mission station. At sunrise — in fact, from early morning twi- 
light, the members of that Church convened on the Monday 
in their chapel. It was their " monthly concert for Missions." 
There is something in the prayer of a Hawaiian Christian 
that finds its way into the heart of a listener. The solemn 
tones of the invocation, " E Iehovah !" (0 Jehovah !) spoken 
only as a Hawaiian can speak it when he addresses his God, 
and equalling, if not surpassing, the " Allah achbar !" of the 
Mussulman, is exceedingly impressive. I could hardly real- 
ize the fact that there was a time when the Christians of far- 
off lands were praying for this people, and sending the men 
and means to evangelize them, and that now this branch of 
the Hawaiian mission was doing a similar thing for other isl- 
ands in the Pacific. But so it was. 

In justice to my theme, I am constrained to say I was as- 
tonished at the unpretending dwelling of the missionary, and 
his unostentatious mode of living. On my way to the group, 
and in accordance with the spirit of previous report, I was ex- 
pecting to find the missionaries living in the most " luxurious 
houses," that were "filled with native slaves," where one 



WHITE MAN TURNED SAVAGE. ^3 

might " witness the idle luxury of their lives." On my arrival 
at the islands, I found that these charges were only phantoms 
of the imagination. The dwelling of the missionary at Ka- 
neohe — Rev. B. "VV. Parker — was as plain as any farm-house 
in New England, both in its internal and external condition. 
The servant he employed he fed and paid monthly wages to ; 
and, at that, he was a member of his own Church ! His fare 
was plain, but neat and substantial ; and, to procure much 
of it, he had to toil with his own hands in cultivating the soil. 
And this was honorable ; for that splendid scholar and gen- 
tlemanly Christian, the Apostle Paul, frequently served at the 
occupation of making tents. I found Mr. Parker one of those 
men whom a person can not help esteeming and loving — a 
plain, honest, affable, Christian gentleman. And when I left 
him, I could not help secretly wishing him, and all his, a sin- 
cere " God-speed !" 

At a short distance beyond Kaneohe, the path leads along 
the sea-shore. The whole scene is highly picturesque. The 
beach is composed of a very fine coral sand of a dazzling 
whiteness, interspersed with long veins of basaltic rock in low 
and smooth beds. On the land side, and near the surge, stand 
a few native dwellings, over which the cocoa-nut tree suspends 
its fantastic and beautiful foliage ; seaward the foam-crested 
breakers come rolling in with the speed of the swiftest race- 
horse, and a voice of thunder, as they break on the beach close 
to the feet of the traveler. 

While journeying along this shore I met a singular looking 
object. His face was bronzed by a tropical sun, his eyes were 
blood-shotten, and a short woolen shirt was his only garment. 
His haggard face, his matted hair and beard, his rapid steps, 
almost induced me to believe he had just escaped from a re- 
treat for the insane. He was once a white man ; but a four 
years' intercourse with the most debased and wretched of the 
natives had turned him into a complete savage. He could 
hardly read, much less write his own name. The poor 
wretch was a libel on the enlightened state of Connecticut, 
for from that part of the United States he originally came. 



H4 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

He refused to tell his name. At this, however, I was not sur- 
prised. His downcast eyes indicated a sense of shame of his 
abject condition. His personal mien and appearance estab- 
lished more firmly than ever, in my own mind, the theory that 
the white man, severed from the civilizing influences of so- 
ciety, is capable of becoming a more debased wretch than the 
savages or aborigines among whom he lives. Such a scene 
is calculated to draw tears from the eyes of angels, and to fill 
the bosom of any living man with sorrow for the brutal con- 
dition of many of his species. I have witnessed many such 
scenes on the Sandwich Islands ; and they are numerous on 
the islands scattered over the wide Pacific Ocean. 

This portion of the shore abounds with a large number of 
singular coral reefs. They are of a circular form, and vary 
from a few rods to a mile in diameter. They are usually el- 
evated to within a few inches of medium tide, at which time 
the natives reach them in canoes, and wade over them to pro- 
cure shell-fish. Although these circular reefs are located near 
the shore, and are raised near the surface of the ocean, they 
retreat so precipitately that their bases can hardly be fathomed ; 
and there is sufficient depth of water around them for any 
purposes. 

Beyond these reefs there are numerous fish-ponds. Their 
dimensions range from one to a hundred acres. Their rela- 
tive size is indicative of the wealth and power of their re- 
spective owners. The smaller ponds belong to the poorer of 
the native subjects ; the larger are owned by the king and his 
principal chiefs. They are formed simply by extending a wall 
of coral over a portion of the reefs lining the shore. The huge 
walls inclosing the largest are of ancient date, and were raised 
when feudal chieftains could command the bodies, souls, and 
lives of the common people ; but now, portions of them were 
beaten down by the ever-rolling tides. Many of these ponds 
are located at some distance from the shore, and supplied by 
fresh water from the neighboring mountains. Over all the 
shores of the group these fish-ponds abound. Next to their 
taro plantations, they are prized by the natives, for their con- 



FISH-PONDS— WOMEN AS LABORERS. H5 

tents are highly valued as an indispensable article of food, and 
sacredly guarded ; but, after all their precautions, some thiev- 
ish native will sometimes come along in the night and extract 
a few of their finny tenants for his own immediate use. Al- 
most invariably, however, he gets detected. With most of 
the Hawaiians, as with the old Spartans, the crime consists 
in detection, not in the theft. These fish-ponds are not un- 
frequently a source of much gratification to the fatigued and 
hungry traveler. On entering a native house just at sunset, 
and after a day's hard riding, it is not uncommon for a good- 
natured old dame to step up to him, pass her hand -across his 
chest, and ask him, with a maternal solicitude, "if lie is full!" 
On receiving a negative reply, out runs a young girl, or one 
of her sons, and launches a small canoe on the waters of the 
pond. It is easy to guess the nature of their errand. In an 
incredibly short time, having been baked amid ample folds of 
the dark green ti leaf \Draccena terminalis), a huge calabash 
of fish, accompanied with boiled taro and poi, as the taste of 
the traveler may be suited, is spread before him. Some twen- 
ty pair of black eyes may be glancing at him, but it only re- 
mains for him to lay aside his fastidiousness and satisfy the 
demands of the inner man. No class of people on earth can 
be more generous to the foreigner than the very poorest of the 
Hawaiians. He may partake of their best fare — -such as it is 
— and they will make no demand upon his purse. But this 
does not intimate that they are ungrateful for a " considera- 
tion." 

While pursuing my way toward Kualoa, a rather novel 
scene presented itself. Five or six women, up to their waists 
in mud and water, and nearly nude, were cleaning out an old 
taro patch, with the intention of converting it into a fish-pond. 
The Hawaiian women are almost amphibious. Almost in- 
credible statements may be made of their wonderful aquatic 
exercises. Strange as it may seem to a foreigner — an Amer- 
ican especially — to see a woman almost buried in mud like an 
eel, to herself it is nothing, for she is fond of dabbling in wa- 
ter. And although these women looked as if they might 



H6 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

have been born the tenants of this very slough, or just risen 
up from the Arcadian Styx, they were merely forming a fish- 
pond for the reception of a few of the finny tribe that their 
brothers, husbands, or fathers were then catching on the reefs. 

If the Hawaiians can be strictly termed a laboring people, 
it is certain that the women do their part. But, whatever 
may be said of them as a people, it is also certain that they 
do not compel their women to subserve the same serfdom that 
brutalizes many of the women of the common Arabs, the Caf- 
fres, and even the North American Indians. 

Although the duties of the Sandwich Island women may 
not be very arduous, they are much varied. One of their most 
tedious and favorite duties is sometimes to drive stock to mark- 
et. During these engagements some of the most ludicrous 
scenes occur. On ascending an eminence just beyond the fish- 
ponds, I noticed a group of native women squatting down un- 
der the shade of a wide-spreading and beautiful Pandanus-tree 
( Tectorius et odoratissimus). On coming up with them, I 
found them surrounding an enormous hog. The day was un- 
usually warm, and the beast lay panting as if he were about 
to breathe his last. To his welfare this female group bestow- 
ed the most assiduous attentions. Their dress was scant ; but 
several of them had evidently taken off their only garments, 
soaked them in water from their calabashes, and spread them 
over his swinish majesty for the express purpose of keeping 
him cool, while a few others were employed in fanning him. 
The usual method of conveying pigs to market is to tie the 
four feet together and run a pole through them, each end be- 
ing supported on the shoulders of two natives, who trot off at 
no very despicable speed. , But this brute would probably have 
weighed nearly five hundred pounds. The silly affection these 
women displayed toward their favorite convinced me that they 
cherished not the least respect for the prohibitory laws of the 
Jewish Scriptures, much less those of the Koran ; and yet they 
were trying to drive him to market for sale. An old adage 
tells us that " a good man is merciful to his beast." But it 
may not be argued that mercy to a brute is always indicative 



DRIVING HOGS TO MARKET. 



117 



of " goodness." Such was the construction I placed on this 
old passage in its application to these women. They were 
simply taking their pet to market. Already had he been driv- 
en several miles. His guardians would have to conduct him 
over the brow of the fearful Pali, and then they would be six 
miles distant from Honolulu. It would occupy at least thirty- 
six hours to accomplish this purpose ; but it would be achieved ; 
for the Sandwich Islanders — the women especially — have a 
large share of patience where little exertion is required. They 
would watch his movements by day, and sleep by his side at 
night. They had fixed his price in the market, and they wish- 
ed to get him there in a condition as good as possible. To a 
person who has never witnessed life in the South Sea Islands, 
much that might be WTitten on the habits of the girls and 
women would be deemed as merely fabulous. Such a conclu- 
sion on the part of a reader is no cause for wonder. A whole 




MODE OF CARRYING BURDENS. 



llg SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

volume might be filled with illustrations of the fondness of 
Hawaiian women for pigs and dogs, but it is better that they 
should drop in as if casually introduced. Whatever may 
have been a person's doubts on this subject, they become dis- 
persed forever when he arrives at the group of islands, and 
sees the women and girls carrying dogs and small pigs in 
their bosoms. 

I shall say more on this topic on a future page. I left that 
company of women, doubting, in my own mind, whether any 
philosopher of the order of Stoics could have maintained his 
gravity in the presence of such a scene. 

This topic leads me to notice the simplicity of native man- 
ners and their domestic life. Several illustrations of these 
themes were presented to me on my way to Kualoa, but they 
were insignificant in comparison to those I subsequently met 
in the progress of my tour over the group. While pursuing 
my way along this shore, I was occasionally overtaken, or met, 
by some native, smiling all over his face, and accosting me by 
their national word of greeting — " Aloha /" (love, or saluta- 
tion to you). Sometimes they will accompany you side by 
side for miles, and, excepting this single word of greeting you 
on meeting and parting, not a syllable will escape their lips. 
Others, again, are as clamorous as a company of Arabs asking 
for " bakshish." Whether the Hawaiian offers a real greeting 
or not, nothing can harrow up his feelings more than the trav- 
eler's refusal or omission to return the compliment by saying 
"Aloha /" Very probably, at the moment of parting, their 
taciturnity may fly away, or the current of their clamor be- 
come changed, and then their sole talk is about the " Iiaole' 
(foreigner). Every feature, the color of his hair, beard, and 
eyes ; every article of dress he has on ; his proficiency as a 
horseman — every thing becomes the theme of their ridicule or 
praise ; and they will remember that foreigner again after the 
lapse of years. 

In their style of living they are just as simple. They know 
little or nothing about artificial wants. With their ponds well 
stocked with fish, their beds of taro flourishing close to their 



A SOLITARY GRAVE. HQ 

doors, their stock, requiring little or no care, increasing around 
them, they appear to be the happiest beings on earth. 

To a certain extent they are an agricultural people. Such 
they were observed to be when first discovered, and such they 
have been from their earliest history. In this respect they 
differ from the aborigines of the continents of North and South 
America, and yet, in some relations, they seem to have descend- 
ed from the same primitive Oriental stock. Until the down- 
fall of idolatry, the Hawaiians maintained a system of pagan 
worship the most cruel, bloody, and debasing ever known, 
while the latter are more of a nomadic race, retaining an 
irrjmaterial worship. Both races are, or have been, powerful 
and warlike, and both are passing rapidly away. 

By this time the road had left the shore, and resumed its 
course over the plains. While trying to select a good crossing 
place over a narrow ravine, my horse's hoofs casually stumbled 
against a low mound. I immediately perceived it to be a 
funeral mound, probably of some native. The top of the 
grave was rudely protected by a covering of coral rocks, that 
looked as though they might have been there during several 
generations. By whose hands it had been dug, or by whom 
it was tenanted, I did not, could not ascertain. There it stood, 
near the sea-shore, all silent and solitary. Not a single wild 
flower grew by its side to gather a few of the tears of night, 
not a blade of grass flourished around it. There was no indi- 
cation that human footsteps came or went on any errand of 
touching memorial. In all probability, the only requiem ever 
wafted over that grave was sung by the foaming surf that in- 
cessantly thundered on the contiguous shore. No man knows 
where he shall rest his bones ; I knew not where I might leave 
my own. I turned away from that grave with a subdued 
spirit, hoping that peace might forever reign over the ashes 
of the profound sleeper. 

At a short distance beyond this funeral mound sat a group 
of which any painter might justly have been proud. It con- 
sisted chiefly of a party of native girls. Their hair and necks 
were ornamented with the gay flowers of their native ohdo 



120 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

* 

{Gualtheria penduliflorwn), as beautifully interwoven as if 
done by fairy fingers. They appeared as unsophisticated and 
happy as if they were strangers to every sorrow — more like 
the descendants of the "children of the sun," who dwelt amid 
the glories of an unfading Peruvian summer, than the offshoots 
of a degraded race. From such beings as these, so beautiful, 
bright, and happy, the old poets surely fabled their genii and 
naiad queens ! 

The chief figure in the group was an old man, who seemed 
to be the centre of their joys. His appearance was decidedly 
patriarchal. A long white beard flowed gracefully down upon 
his chest. A few white locks were sprinkled around his tem- 
ples. When he smiled, his eyes sparkled with unaffected de- 
light, and his parted lips revealed a complete set of the finest 
teeth I have ever seen. Nearly a hundred summers had shone 
upon him, and his simplicity of appearance was increased by 
a long wreath of wild flowers which one of those bewitching 
girls had placed on his neck. He was reciting to his little 
audience some of the tales of his youthful days. Truly they 
must have been of a thrilling nature, for he had lived during 
the sanguinary struggles that achieved the consolidation of the 
entire group under the sway of old Kamehameha I. ; he had 
witnessed the annihilation of several pagan temples, and the 
destruction of "forty thousand idols/" This little group 
seemed as bright as the sun in whose rays they were basking ; 
nor was it any wonder that those young girls should crowd 
around the venerable old man, as he told them of past gener- 
ations. 

This picture was primitive in all its associations. It con- 
veyed to my own mind a vivid idea of the early races of the 
great family of man. I could not but believe that mankind 
were far happier then than now, and I almost wished for a 
return of the patriarchal age. The patriarchs dwelt in tents ; 
but they were ancestors to the greatest nations of ancient days ; 
and they could step to the thresholds of their plain and honest 
abodes, and look up to their future homes — the stars, and in 
their light and glory they could read the first truth in Nature 



A NATIVE JUDGE. J21 

and Revelation, the great central truth to which every reason- 
able man clings — "There is one God!" In this position 
they were infinitely happier than the proudest member of the 
long dynasty of the ancient Pharaohs. 

Of all the characters on the group, no one is more interest- 
ing than that of a native judge. A singular specimen of this 
genus Iwmo I found residing within the precincts of Kualoa. 
His house was constructed on the native plan, but his domes- 
tic comforts were rather superior. He was a judge (!), and 
that made the difference. He resided in the centre of a vil- 
lage containing six or seven other dwellings. His legal pro- 
fession constituted him a sort of lord over his surrounding 
brethren, for they all looked up to him with feelings some- 
what akin to reverence. He had no rosewood book-cases, well 
filled with elegantly bound and ponderous volumes ; but a sin- 
gle shelf contained his papers, and some half dozen books, from 
which he had drawn his legal inspirations. His house con- 
tained a few articles for domestic use that would not have dis- 
graced the residence of many a thoroughly civilized man. Ev- 
ery thing was arranged with scrupulous care as to the best 
side being placed toward the gaze of the visitor, and all was 
proverbially neat and clean. He had so adjusted the insignia 
of his office, that his own countrymen might at once be im- 
pressed with the majesty that civil law extends to its faithful 
disciples. 

The judge himself was a fine-looking fellow, about six feet 
high, well proportioned, and with a hand that might well have 
belonged to a high-born patrician woman. His entire physi- 
ognomy was that of a lawyer. 

It happened that two natives were present seeking the ad- 
justment of some private difficulty. The question having 
been proposed, a solemn silence pervaded the entire dwelling. 
His honor sat perfectly still, and an awful solemnity shrouded 
his countenance ; while his " better half" sat down on the 
mat-covered floor, looking him directly in the face all the time. 
The gaze of the two men was not less intense. After some 
minutes' deliberation, this painful silence was broken ; the 

F 



122 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

defendant was fined several dollars, while the plaintiff seemed 
to think himself a lucky fellow, and went away with a lighter 
heart and more pleasant countenance. The little court was 
dismissed, and his honor deposited his fees in a deep recess in 
his nondescripts, evidently satisfied with himself and his own 
profession. 

I have already referred to taro plantations. The profound 
interest with which they are regarded by the Hawaiians in- 
duces me to give them a brief notice. Those that were flour- 
ishing around the dwelling of that native were among the 
finest I saw on the group. But I would here be understood 
as giving a general description of the article in its nature and 
general cultivation. 

The taro (kalo in Hawaiian) is a species of arum (Arum 
esculentum). Like the Arum triphyllum, it grows in damp 
or wet situations only. It is propagated in water by planting 
tops from the suckers of one year's growth that have sprouted 
from the sides of the original plant. The beds are excavated 
two or three feet deep in the earth, leveled, and beaten with 
cocoa-nut stems, while wet, to produce capacity to hold water. 
Upland kalo is usually much smaller than that which grows 
in the rich bottoms. There is a red and a white species, be- 
sides several varieties of each. Some of these plantations vary 
in size from a forty-feet square to two or three acres. Like 
many of the fish-ponds, the size indicates the wealth and rank 
of the owner. Forty square feet of land planted with kalo 
will afford subsistence for one person during a whole year. A 
square mile of land planted with the same vegetable will feed 
fifteen thousand one hundred and fifty-one persons for the same 
length of time.^ 

As an article of food, kalo is invaluable. It is, in fact, the 
Hawaiian staff of life. It is the bread of the islanders. A 
good Providence has caused it to be indigenous. While raw, 
it is exceedingly styptic and acrimonious, producing a burning 

* The above estimate is made by allowing paths, three feet wide, 
between each piece of ground of forty square feet. The great ease 
by which the natives sustain themselves is thus explained. 



KUALOA. 123 

sensation on the tongue. In this state it is frequently taken 
as a medicine. These properties are destroyed, however, by 
subjecting it to heat. Boiling, baking, or roasting leaves the 
root a light farinaceous substance, not much unlike the best 
potato. In this last state, it is extensively used by the foreign 
population as an article of food for their daily table. 

But the most precious diet of the Hawaiians is the kalo, 
when converted into poi. It is prepared for this purpose by 
thoroughly cooking it, and then pounding it to a pulp in a 
trough made out of hard wood. The pounding-mallet is a 
piece of lava, having a shape much like a chenlist's pestle. 
During the process of pounding, water is frequently added. 
When it assumes the appearance of a thick paste, it is finished, 
and then it receives the euphonious appellation of poi. As 
food, it is simple and nutritious, and eaten with one or two 
fingers, according to its consistency. It is always preferred by 
the people after the fermentative process has commenced. 
This article of food imparts bulk rather than strength and so- 
lidity to the constitution. And this fact will readily account 
for the immense corpulency of some of the old Hawaiian 
queens, a feature which, in those days, was deemed the ne 
plus ultra of female beauty. Poi is the national dish. A 
native may be fed at the very best civilized tables ; but if he 
is not supplied with his favorite dish, he will go away dissat- 
isfied. And when elevated to the highest possible grade of 
civilization, he readily mingles with his countrymen in any 
little party where this article of diet is certain to be found. 

After a fatiguing ride, I reached Kualoa (from kua, the back, 
and loa, long). The name seems to be derived from the pe- 
culiar ridge of mountains forming the southern boundary of 
the Koolauloa district. It is a highly interesting location, the 
home of several native families. In front rolls the wide Pa- 
cific. The scenery on the east and west is bounded by the 
chain of mountains above referred to, and which are huge 
masses of volcanic rock that have grown gray during the on- 
ward flight of unchronicled generations. Once they echoed 
back the war-songs of victorious chieftains returning from the 



124 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

field of battle, where they plucked glory from the standards 
of their foes. But now the race of warriors has gone, and a 
few wild goats take refuge in the sides of these giant land- 
marks. The plains of Kualoa contain about twelve thousand 
acres, over whose surface may be traced tangible evidences of 
a large population long since extinct. 

Nothing can surpass this spot when the sun sets below the 
mountains, and reflects their massive shadows far out on the 
plain. Twilight reigns below, while all above seems bathed 
in the glory of the descending orb. And when night throws 
its veil over nature, and every sound is hushed, the very silence 
becomes oppressive, and the mountains stand like giant sen- 
tinels to protect the contiguous plains from all evil. 



CHAPTER IX. 

JOURNEY TO WAIALUA. 

Road to Ewa. — Repairing Roads. — Paahao Labor. — Natives as La- 
borers. — A Trial of Patience. — Balaam and his Ass. — The Proph- 
et's Conclusion. — Philosophy of Patience. — A Trial of Speed.— 
Eva. — Church and Station. — A Patriarchal Missionary. — Eccle- 
siastical Discipline. — Singular Case of Divorce. — A Night at Ewa. 

The road leading from Honolulu to Ewa contains but little 
of the picturesque. As far out as the Salt Lake, it is exceed- 
ingly rugged, and presents a scene of savage nakedness. It 
ranges along the foot of the huge slopes stretching from the 
summits of the Konahuanui Mountains. 

At the time I passed over it, this road was undergoing re- 
pairs, but certainly not before they were needed. This was 
done by an express order from government. The work was 
done by persons who preferred rather to work out their road- 
tax than liquidate it by paying cash. Every native is com- 
pelled to work six days in the year on the public roads in his 
own district, or it may be commuted by paying three dollars. 
Until recently, women, who had trampled on the law of virtue, 



PAAHAO LABOR. 125 

were compelled to work out a certain term of imprisonment 
to hard labor on the public roads of the islands ; in other 
words, they had to repair the high-ways, because they had 
failed to repair their own. The traveler rides over many a 
thoroughfare that has been constructed, from first to last, by 
this sort of labor. 

The system of road-making is very different from what it 
was once. Then, as now, that sort of labor was denominated 
paaJiao. In former days it was a portion of a system whose 
every feature and aim were unqualified despotism. From 
the highest chief down to the lowest subject, it was a grada- 
tion of usurped power, each subordinate being oppressed by 
his superior. This state of affairs is well illustrated by the 
laws which were appended to the first Constitution, publish- 
ed in 1842 by Kamehameha III. They may be regarded as 
a literary curiosity, and that is the principal inducement to a 
few brief citations : 

" Formerly, besides the regular government tax, there was 
another tax laid by the local governors, another by the high- 
er landlords, and another still by their subordinates. 

" If the landlords became dissatisfied, they at once dispos- 
sessed their tenants, even without cause, and then gave their 
land to whoever asked for it. 

" Formerly, a prohibition rested even on the ocean, so that 
men must not take fish from it. 

" If the king wished for the property of any man, he took 
it without reward ; even seized it by force, or took a portion 
only, just in accordance with his choice, and no man could re- 
fuse him. The same was true of their chiefs, and even the 
landlords treated their tenants thus. 

" The chief could call the people from one of the islands to 
the other to perform labor. 

" If the people did not go to the work of the king when re- 
quired, the punishment was that their houses we*e set on fire 
and consumed." — Laws of Kamehameha III., chap. liv. 

This labor-tax was the greatest of all scourges to the com- 
mon people. The uncertain tenure of their possessions broke 



126 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

down their public spirit, and introduced evils that tended to a 
depopulation of the race. 

Bad as was the condition of the road over which I was 
traveling, I could but conclude that the labor bestowed upon 
it would render it little or no better. About fifty natives 
were employed in doing repairs, or rather in trying to do 
them. Where the road-supervisor was, I knew not ; but cer- 
tainly he was much needed. Clothed as I was in a regular 
Sandwich Island suit — and that is just such a suit as a man 
chooses to wear — and approaching the group of idlers, it seems 
I must have been looked upon as their foreman, for every 
man seized his tools and commenced his work in good earnest. 
They were soon undeceived, however ; for, on coming close up 
with them, they all laughed at their panic, threw down their 
tools, and recommenced their jokes on each other. As a gen- 
eral thing, there is no class of men so difficult to employ as 
Hawaii ans. A mere tithe of what was formerly extorted 
from them by the hand of a relentless despotism, can not now 
be obtained from them by kindness and a good remuneration. 
No beast of prey watches his victim with a closer scrutiny 
than the Kanaka watches his employer. In his presence he 
makes every effort to appear active and useful ; but the very 
moment he disappears, it is the signal for a general cessation 
of work, and one keeps a " look-out," while the group indulge 
in every variety of gossip. On the reappearance of their mas- 
ter, the sentinel gives the alarm, and every man is found to 
be at work as though he meant never again to lay down his 
implements. The employer may have watched them through 
a clump of foliage, or from the window of his house, and, on 
coming back, tell them of their remissness ; but they will 
swear him out of the use of his eyes, and insist upon it that 
he was altogether mistaken. 

But there was a special cause why these road-repairers 
recognized me as not being their supervisor, and that cause 
was the personal appearance and conduct of my horse. The 
characteristics which composed his animal nature I am per- 
fectly at a loss to describe ; but I did feel that, in making 



A TRIAL OF PATIENCE. J^7 

him, Nature had made a mistake. I found much difficulty 
in £ettmg him out of the town. Of this his owner had advised 
me ; also, that he would do very well when fairly on the road. 
The first of the predictions was verified to the letter ; the latter 
it was impossible, as yet, to realize. I was unable to decide 
whether or not the beast knew he had left the town two miles 
behind ; but I was conscious that, so far, I had been compelled 
to work my passage. And when he arrived at that part of the 
road where repairs were going on, he positively refused to go 
another step. The laborers indulged in a good deal of rnirth 
at my expense. But when the horse came to a, dead halt, I 
was compelled to dismount, much to my own chagrin and the 
boisterous mirth of the natives. 

I had already applied both whip and spur, until my limbs 
were fatigued. The day was very warm, and the perspiration 
actually streamed down into my boots. To have that horse 
stand and look me in the face with a dogged independence, 
and to see those natives fairly rolling with laughter on the 
rugged road, was more than my endurance could subserve. 
Feeling like losing some command over my temper, I exam- 
ined the girth and appendages, and once more mounted. With 
all the strength of an excited arm, I applied my heavy riding- 
whip to my steed ; and in return, with all the independence 
of his nature, he madly and rapidly plunged and reared for the 
purpose of throwing me off. It was in vain ; the ugliness of 
his temper only drew down upon him a heavier whipping. 

It was a great relief to get away from those grimacing 
natives. My beast made a start at last. For the next two 
or three miles, and until after I had passed Alia-paakai, he 
would trot, walk, or come to a stand, just as it suited him ; 
and when I arrived at an elevation of the road, he stood as 
still as a sculptured war-steed. 

To be frank with the reader, I am constrained to admit 
that at that moment I felt placed in a very unenviable posi- 
tion. I lost all patience. My spur had broken down, and my 
arm was tired from using the whip. 

Before this experiment in horsemanship, I had often cen- 



128 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

sured the prophet Balaam for his abuse of his ass. I had 
many a time pictured to myself the bearded prophet mounted 
on his beast, journeying to meet the king and the princess of 
Moab. I could see the old man urging along his steed, and 
the refractory steed endeavoring to urge its way back again, 
and, in its efforts, crush its master's foot against the wall of 
the vineyard. 

Under such circumstances, Balaam lost his temper. It was 
no wonder. And he wished for a sword, that he might slay 
his beast. 

Situated as I then was, I could freely forgive the incensed 
seer. At that moment I perfectly understood his case, and I 
exclaimed to myself, Henceforth and forever I can pity his 
misfortunes and forgive his weakness. If the prophet had 
possessed a sword, he would have left his beast breathless on 
the spot ; and had I been in possession of a pistol at that 
moment, my sorry brute would never have baffled the efforts 
of another rider. The prophet was pardonable, and so was 
the ass ; for the beast could see what his master could not — 
a supernatural phenomenon. With my steed, however, it was 
not so ; for I was well assured that the spirit of no Hawaiian 
warrior could come back to dispute my right of way to 
Waialua. 

For the second time I dismounted, and commenced a spec- 
ulation on patience. It occurred to me that the old adage, 
"Patience is a virtue," was undisputably true; but, at the 
same time, I was compelled to differ from some philosophers 
on what patience actually signified, and the conclusion I came 
to was simply this : that a man who never loses his patience 
has none to lose, and that its occasional test is a satisfactory 
evidence of its existence. 

But Fortune — if the goddess yet lives — had not quite aban- 
doned me ; for, while philosophizing on patience, I casually 
turned to survey a part of the road I had traveled over, and 
two native horsemen came galloping along. Under the im- 
pression that my horse would travel in company with their 
own, I once more mounted him. It turned out to be a wise 



EW A— CHURCH AND STATION. J29 

precaution ; for scarcely had I placed myself on the saddle, 
when the horsemen came up, and my own steed started off at 
a sweeping gallop, imparting a spirit of emulation to theirs. 
Away sped myself and the two Kanakas, as if impelled along 
by a final race for glory. Reining them in was out of the 
question now. As we sped along I lost all thoughts of Ba- 
laam, for no less a hero than John Gilpin was the only man 
on whom my thoughts rested. He came very near running a 
break-neck race, and a similar doom looked me in the face. 
The two natives glanced at me with profound astonishment. 
In vain they tried to arrest the mad career of their animals. 
On we sped, over hills, and plains, and through valleys. No 
wooer of the muse ever fled more swiftly on the wings of Pe- 
gasus than we sped over that road. It was a mercy the road 
was clear ; for, had there been any serious obstructions in the 
way, either our animals' limbs, or our own necks, must have 
forfeited their safety as an atonement for this unavoidable reck- 
lessness. On the whole, it was a curious performance, but 
very far from being agreeable. And so we rode until we 
nearly reached E wa, twelve miles west of Honolulu. At that 
point the natives left me. Once more alone, my Bucephalus 
recommenced his tricks ; and it was not until two hours more 
had elapsed, and after sundry coaxings and floggings, that he 
conveyed me entirely to Ewa. 

Long before I reached this station, I could trace its site by 
means of a white flag that was floating over the native church. 
In the distance, it seemed to retain an aspect of marked deso- 
lation ; and yet that white flag bespoke a cordial welcome, for 
it indicated the existence of civilized life. I was not mistaken 
in my surmises. On arriving at Ewa, and closely inspecting 
the face of nature, I found much to admire and love. The 
village was small, and strictly Hawaiian in its character and 
appearance, but meriting no particular description. It had 
its district school, under the supervision of a native instructor, 
and the pupils were numerous and attentive. 

But the home of the missionary was a delightful spot. Its 
external features seemed to smile back the ever-glorious sun- 

F 2 



130 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

light that came streaming from the placid bosom of the sky. 
Fruits and flowers thrived beautifully, such as the pomegran- 
ate (Pumica granatum, Linn.), tamarind ( Tamarindus In- 
dica), pine-apple (Bromelia ananas, Linn.), plantain (Musa 
Paradisiaca, Linn.), and the bread-fruit-tree (Artocarpus in- 
cisa) ; the bloody geranium ( Geranium sanguineum) ; a 
magnificent specimen of the century plant, or American aloe 
(Agave Americana), and many other flowers peculiar to the 
tropics. The very atmosphere was balmy with the odors of 
fruits and flowers. 

If the external aspect of that dwelling was enchanting, its 
internal arrangements wielded a magical influence over the 
spirit of a visitor. Every thing was the very pattern of neat- 
ness and order. I was not long in concluding that the female 
proprietor of that abode never troubled her head about the 
proceedings of "Women's Rights Conventions ;" and that she 
honored her God, herself, and her husband by staying at home 
and minding her own business. 

In that dwelling there was every thing that was needful to 
refresh a tired traveler. The room into which I was intro- 
duced, where I might refresh myself, had often been occupied 
by an interesting and only daughter — at least I was so in- 
formed — who was now on a visit to a neighboring island. 
But, if she was physically absent, there was something about 
that room that caused me to feel the spirituality of her pres- 
ence. I had never seen her, but I touched every thing which 
I supposed she had : used her hair-brush ; looked in Jhe mir- 
ror before which her youthful form had many a time stood to 
arrange her toilet ; turned over some of the pages of her books 
and music, &c, &c. I must confess I knew not at the time, 
nor do I now understand, why such a singular propensity 
came over me ; but I do know, that if the eye of the fair 
daughter could have pierced those walls and shed its fire upon 
my own vision, I should instinctively have shrunk from any 
such proceedings. There was a sanctity about that room that 
I shall never fail to realize ; it was the sanctum sanctorum 
where a virtuous woman had thousands of times reposed in 
the arms of sleep. 



A PATRIARCHAL MISSIONARY. 121 

But a brief truce to the ideal. I had refreshed myself, and 
felt it proper to go and make my best salam to the missionary, 
who had just been summoned from a rather remote portion 
of Ins premises — for he carried on a small farm. I did make 
my best bow, and gave him the best squeeze of the hand 
with the best grace I was master of. He was the most patri- 
archal old gentleman I have ever met, and he richly merited 
my best regards, my most sincere deference. There was some- 
thing about him so paternal, so honest, cordial, and good, that 
I could not fail to respect him. And then the generous and 
disinterested welcome he gave me to all his hospitalities ! I 
could have rode sixty miles at the break-neck gallop I had 
just terminated, on a horse ten times as comical and refrac- 
tory, and over a road ten times as uncouth, to have met such 
a welcome at the end of my journey as that missionary gave 
me. Rev. Artemas Bishop — for this is the name of the mis- 
sionary — has long since ceased to draw his support from the 
American Board of Missions. There are many persons who 
care to make no discrimination in facts which vitally affect 
the history of Christianity in the Sandwich archipelago. It 
is for this very reason that I enter into details more than I 
otherwise should. I have made my own observations, and 
arrived at my own conclusions, and, in stern justice to truth, 
fearless of the results, I shall speak of things as I found them 
in 1853. There are thousands who will care nothing about 
the method by which such men as Mr. Bishop are supported 
in their clerical duties, much less will they care for the rela- 
tive amount expended on their support. There are many 
who are rather too fond of dealing in wholesale invective 
against the entire missionary body, and who denominate mis- 
sionary enterprise a "farce/" 

I shall show to what extent this remark may be justified, 
and to what extent it is untrue. In the course of these pages, 
I shall give every man of whom I speak his righteous deserts, 
irrespective of parties or party influence. 

But to return to the missionary at Ewa. He is one of the 
first band that came to the islands, in the shape of an enforce- 



132 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ment, on April 27th, 1823. For thirty years he has been 
employed in elevating Hawaiian character. Many of the 
people of Ewa have been born, have flourished, and passed 
away to another world since he has occupied this station. 
He has been their spiritual guide in life, their consoler in sor- 
row, their attendant in the hour of death. If I were requested 
to give an epitome of his character, I should employ the lan- 
guage of Cowper : 

"Simple, grave, sincere; 
In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language plain, 
And plain in manner; decent, solemn, chaste, 
And natural in gesture ; much impressed 
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, 
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds 
May feel it too ; affectionate in look, 
And tender in address, as well becomes 
A messenger of grace to guilty men." 

Such is the picture of at* least one missionary at the Sand- 
wich Islands. Much more could be said in detail of his char- 
acter, but I have said enough. I will merely add that, partly 
by his own exertions, and partly from native aid, he obtains 
his support. The external beauties of his dwelling, its inter- 
nal comforts, and even the very house itself — all are the results 
mainly of his own economy and industry. And where is there 
a heart so infinitely small and callous as to envy such a man 
his personal comfort, or cast aspersions on his personal char- 
acter ! 

Like many of his coadjutors, the missionary at Ewa fre- 
quently mourns the instability of native Christian character. 
Under such circumstances, it becomes necessary to employ 
ecclesiastical discipline, and their expulsion from the Church 
not unfrequently follows. But it becomes a serious question 
if expulsion is not of too frequent occurrence in the Hawaiian 
churches, that of Ewa not excepted. Morally and philosoph- 
ically reasoned, that which may be regarded as a sufficient 
cause for the expulsion of an intelligent member of a Chris- 
tian communion in the United States, may with propriety be 
pardoned in a Church member on the Sandwich group. It is 



ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE. ^33 

the most difficult task on earth to implant a sensitive con- 
science in the bosom of a Sandwich Islander. Even in ad- 
vanced age. or at the meridian of life, native character is ex- 
tremely childish. This is peculiarly the case with men and 
women who have experienced what may be termed a moral 
change of character. In their religious career they closely 
resemble children who are learning to walk — they can not 
stand alone. They are liable to fall at any moment. To a 
person who knows any thing of the intensity of passion form- 
ing a leading element in Hawaiian character, this state of 
things will afford no cause for surprise. A single glance at 
the past moral history of the nation will fully est abb sh the 
cause of these palpable effects, and afford solid grounds for 
the excuse of many a violation of ecclesiastical law. A mem- 
ber who has been cut off from all Christian communion deems 
himself a lost man, or herself a lost woman. There is no crime 
they can not then perpetrate, no vice into which they can not 
and do not readily plunge. I am well aware that there are 
some exceptions even to these remarks, but they are very few. 
Many a man has been expelled from the bosom of his church, 
when a slight remonstrance would have saved him from final 
shipwreck ; and so it has been in relation to many a woman. 
It can not be denied that there are those in the Hawaiian 
churches — Ewa included — who, at the day of final judgment, 
will shine resplendent as the sun in the glory of redeemed 
spirits ; but, as a general thing, an over-estimate exists as to 
the number of converts. Yet, in spite of all this, some con- 
versation I had with this patriarch, as well as numerous inci- 
dents which subsequently came under my own observation, 
induced me to believe that expulsions were a] together too 
numerous, and were induced by causes altogether too trifling. 
With myself it has not unfrequently been a serious question, 
if, in these rapid expulsions, many of the missionaries have 
not been productive of a greater amount of moral evil than 
otherwise would have occurred. This was my conviction 
when on the islands, and it remains unchanged now that I 
am thousands of miles away from them. 



134 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

In illustration of what I have advanced, many incidents 
may be cited. There is one, however, that was related to me 
"by the missionary at Ewa, which may suffice. 

It casually happened that a native store was opened for a 
few minutes on a certain Sunday at Ewa. A native woman 
passing by saw something which took her fancy, and imme- 
diately went in and purchased it. On going home, the hus- 
band, who was a conscientious Christian, began to reason the 
case with her, assuring her she had violated the law of the 
Sabbath, as it was established both by God and man. All 
this was true. The woman felt it to be so ; but she became 
mortally offended at her liege lord, and positively refused to 
accompany him again to the place of Protestant worship. She 
was true to her word. The next Sunday witnessed her at- 
tendance at the Catholic chapel. Her expulsion from the 
Protestant communion followed as a matter of course. Her 
next step was to apply to the Catholic priest for a divorce from 
her husband, and the request was granted ; but it was direct- 
ly in defiance of civil law, and ought not to have been toler- 
ated. It was looked upon, however, by both the priest and 
his protege, as being at once decisive and just ; and while she 
was welcomed into the bosom of a Catholic communion, her 
former husband was left to mourn over a most unfair and un- 
lucky state of second bachelorship. His case was rendered 
more desolate from the fact that she could again repose in the 
lap of conjugal bliss, while he could consummate no such 
formal association. On the Sandwich Islands, the " Church 
of his Holiness (?) the Pope" is a " city of refuge" to every 
class of character. 

Under the very hospitable roof of Mr. Bishop I spent one 
night. Although somewhat fatigued from the effects of my 
recent steeple-chase, it was a long time before 

" Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," 

condescended to creep over my senses. I can now recall sev- 
eral reasons for this state of things, although I need mention 
only two. First, every thing was so very still. I had already 
passed across the great Sahara, where the silence, so oppress- 



A NIGHT AT EWA. 135 

ive, was broken only by the occasional prayer or song of the 
Bedouin, or the solemn wail of the swiftly-flying sirocco ; but 
amid that silence I had spent many a wakeful night. So at 
Eiva, the silence that surrounded the dwelling of the mission- 
ary was awful and sepulchral — it w T as, in short, oppressive ; 
and for a long time I could not sleep. But the second cause 
of my wakefulness, although by no means surprising, was by 
far the most emphatic. The drapery of that bed was as pure 
as purity itself, and as w T hite as the whitest snow. Beneath 
it had reposed the young lady of whom ample mention has al- 
ready been made. If a curious reader is anxious to know my 
thoughts on this subject, I would kindly refer him to "Rev- 
eries of a Bachelor" by "Ike Marvel." All I can say is, 
that, on waking up at a late hour next morning, I found my- 
self in the predicament of Fielding's " Tom Jones" when pur- 
suing his " Sophia" — I was hugging one of the pillows ! 



CHAPTER X. 

JOURNEY TO WAIALUA. 

Departure from Ewa. — Old Battle-ground. — Lands of the Princess 
. Victoria. — The Feudal System. — Reform of the Landed System. — . 
Fee-simple Titles. — Necessity of a judicious Taxation. — Off the 
Road. — Extraordinary Feats in Horsemanship. — Arrival at Waia- 
lua. — Mission Station. — Scenery. — How Missionaries extend a Wel- 
come. — Ride to Mokuleia. — The Dairy Business. — Singular Freak 
in a Native's Costume. — Improvement among Natives. — Native 
Church. — Popery and Mormonism. — Spurious Baptisms. — Native 
Cunning. — A novel "Farewell!" 

Next morning I started again for "Waialua. Before com- 
mencing my journey, however, I had taken every precaution 
that was necessary to procure a better horse, for I had per- 
mitted my former one to remain in the elysium of a fine pas- 
ture, solemnly resolving I would never ride him again — a vow 
which I was compelled, more from the force of circumstances 



136 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

than any thing else, most religiously to observe. My worthy 
host cheerfully proffered me the use of his own animal, which, 
he assured me, was " very slow," but, at the same time, "very 
safe ;" and I, of course, as cheerfully accepted him. 

Wishing my generous entertainer a heartfelt " good-morn- 
ing," I pursued my way alone for Waialua, not doubting my 
own most complete success in finding the way thither. Cross- 
ing a brook which supplied the village of Ewa with delicious 
water, and pursuing my way through a small but exceedingly 
romantic dell, I emerged upon the open plains. It was on the 
boundary line of an old battle-ground. Just before the group 
was brought under the sovereignty of Kamehameha L, the 
kings of Kauai and Oahu engaged in a bloody conflict on this 
spot. Here the terrific war-hoop was sounded. This very 
soil drank in the gore of expiring and wounded warriors. Be- 
neath this sod slumbered many a brave follower of the hostile 
monarchs, whose only object was personal glory. The selec- 
tion of such a spot as this for the purposes of battle convinced 
nie that the wars of the old Hawaiians were based on tactics 
extremely formidable and sanguinary. Here, at least, it was 
so. Not a single shrub afforded shelter to the weaker party. 
It was close, open-field fighting. 

Extending for miles beyond Ewa are to be seen the lands 
of the Princess Victoria — a young native girl whom I saw in 
the royal school at Honolulu. The soil is composed mainly 
of a decomposed red tufaceous lava. In its present condition, 
it produces nothing but a coarse pasture for cattle. If brought 
under the action of scientific agriculture, it would become 
exceedingly fertile. These lands of the young princess are 
bounded by a deep ravine, over which the traveler passes half 
way between Ewa and Waialua. Beyond that boundary, the 
lands are owned principally by chiefs, who will neither sell 
nor lease any portion of them, nor do they bring them under 
any degree of cultivation. 

Besides owning several square miles of this territory, Vic- 
toria retains large possessions on all the islands of the group. 
One or two clerks are constantly employed to take care of the 



THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 137 

books which relate to these possessions. Whoever the Gordian 
knot of marriage may tie to this princess, will probably come 
in for a large share of her territorial wealth ; but so much can 
not be said in relation to her personal or physical riches. By 
most of the foreign residents in Honolulu, it is firmly believed 
that she is as wise, in many respects, as her own mother was 
when living. Why not ? Every grade of royalty is but a 
grade of perishable and erring humanity. 

The great mass of lands on the group were recently held 
very much on the old feudal tenure, but the system has been 
vastly modified within a few years past. The feudalism of 
the Middle Ages was not more absolute or sanguinary than the 
Hawaiian system was only thirty years ago. Its genius was 
to support the power of the ruling monarch, or the high chiefs 
who derived their power by birthright, but more immediately 
from the monarch himself. It was natural to suppose that, 
to retain their lands, tenants would support the interests of 
their sovereign, for these gifts emanated from royal clemency. 
The vanquished in battle were the victims of the most mer- 
ciless treatment. Their possessions were wrested from them 
by the victors ; a hopeless poverty looked them sternly in the 
face ; and, even if their life was spared, so extreme were their 
sufferings, that death itself was a boon which many coveted, 
and some secured. 

This uncertain tenure continued until 1846.^ At that date 

* Quest. 69. To whom the ownership or lordship of the land belongs. 

Ans. To the chiefs, Makawao alone being sold. [Green.] (East 
Maui.) 

Mostly I believe to the king. Several large tracts to different 
chiefs. [Hitchcock.] (Molokai.) 

These lands, as I understand the subject, belong to the heirs of 
Kamehameha I. Generally, several individuals seem to have some 
rights to the same land. I can not point to a single piece of land in 
the district owned exclusively by one individual. [Parker.] (Ka- 
neohe, Oahu.) 

The land of these two districts are all owned by non-resident 
chiefs and people of the king. [Bishop.] (Ewa, Oahu.) 

I do not think that the people generally have had till recently 
any idea that they had a right in the soil, or, at least, such a right 



138 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

popular discussions, and appeals to governmental authorities, 
paved the way to a better condition of affairs. In connection 
with a number of communications on the subject of landed 
property, addressed to Hon. R,. C. "Wyllie, there was one from 
the pen of the Roman Catholic Bishop, L. D. Maigret, dated 
Honolulu, 27th of April, 1847. The language of the truly 
philanthropic bishop on this theme is worthy of a record in 
golden characters. Among other practical principles which 
he lays down, he remarks : 

" To grant lands to the natives, and secure to them, forev- 
er, the enjoyment and prosperity of said lands. The Hawaii- 
an government will lose nothing by being generous. What- 
ever a sovereign gives to his subjects is more his own than if 
he took it away from them. The islands, it is said, have near- 
ly eight thousand square miles, and one hundred thousand in- 
habitants. Dividing those eight thousand square miles among 
one hundred thousand inhabitants, it is found that every native 
would have upward of forty-eight acres of land. Supposing 
the government to keep to itself nine tenths, out of the re- 
maining tenth there would still be upward of three acres 

as they could not be made to yield at any time by the command of 
a high chief. And for this reason no natives, except in the large 
villages, have ever attempted to build them permanent houses. The 
removals of the people from one island to another made them feel 
like tenants at will, and from that time to the present I think that 
most of the people have regarded themselves as such (the law to the 
contrary notwithstanding), in most cases where the missionary has 
not succeeded in raising in the minds of the most enlightened a dif- 
ferent sentiment. [Emerson.] (Waialua, Oahu.) 

To Victoria, the daughter of Kekuanaoa, and to the latter as her 
guardian. [Gulick.] (Waialua, Oahu.) 

Every land has been regarded as having some owner, and many 
lands have six or eight owners at the same time. For instance, 
Waialua, containing perhaps one or two thousand acres in all, has 
seven lords, one above the o^her, and all of them are over the people, 
and claim services from them occasionally, if they happen to want 
it. [Emerson.] (Waialua, Oahu.) See "Answers to Questions," 
p. 44, 45. 



REFORM OF THE LANDED SYSTEM. ^39 

for every inhabitant. In this view, the sovereign of these isl- 
ands is more able to make his people happy than most sover- 
eigns, and therefore he ought to consider himself happy, for 
the happiness of a sovereign does not consist in the power to 
make his people happy, but in his really making them happy. 
Let him, then, distribute lands to his subjects, as did, in old 
times, the chief and legislator of the Hebrews, and he will soon 
see disappear a multitude of evils which consume and deci- 
mate the population of the islands. The natives then will 
have something to eat, and wherewith to clothe themselves ; 
they will labor with gladness, because they will be interested 
in their labor, and the fruit of their labor will be insured to 
them ; parents, in future, will be able to raise their families ; 
the multiplication of marriages will be encouraged ; we will 
no longer see the plurality of adoptive fathers so hurtful to fil- 
ial love and the correction of children ; the natives will be- 
come attached to a spot of ground which they well know be- 
longs to them ; they will then construct habitations more solid, 
more durable, more spacious, more healthy, and fitter for the 
preservation of good morals ; we will no longer see so many 
vagabonds, who live only at the expense of others, and who 
unceremoniously enter the first house they come to ; the na- 
tives will no longer lie down on the wet and muddy ground ; 
in their houses there will no longer be the disgusting inter- 
mixture, whence originate so many diseases and so much 
corruption ; the people will bless the sovereign who gov- 
erns them ; they will grant him all their affection and their 
confidence, and they will respect more than ever his author- 
ity."^ 

The first step toward the annihilation of the old feudalism 
was to establish a Land Commission, before which every native 
subject might present his claim to the estate on which he 
lived, or had been owned or tenanted by his fathers. Very 
soon thousands of claims were presented. Their settlement 
was found to be a most laborious and tedious work, as many 
of the claims were disputed by several parties at once, and the 
^ * u Answers to Questions," p. 56, 57. 



140 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

testimony in such cases was necessarily recorded both in the 
English and the Hawaiian languages. 

But there were difficulties in the way of a speedy settle- 
ment. The old chiefs were slow to change the customs of 
their fathers, and, like other men in power, their ambition 
was wide in its grasp. The king himself pleaded the natural 
rights of his subjects. The contest was long, but the victory 
was achieved. A pointed reference was made to this decision 
by the Minister of the Interior, in his Annual Report of 1850, 
before the Hawaiian Legislature : 

" It has been the anxious wish of the king and his council 
to encourage agriculture and other branches of industry, and 
attend to the promotion of happiness among the people. It was 
with this view that certain resolutions were passed by the king 
and council on the 21st of December, 1849, granting fee-simple 
titles to the common people for the lands they have occupied. 

" These resolutions are herewith submitted for the consid- 
eration of the Legislature. It is believed, if any thing will 
arouse the people of Hawaii to industry and self-respect, it is 
this crowning act of his Majesty's reign. If this fail, there 
is no hope. If the possession of a home — the home, too, in 
many cases, where their fathers lived, and where their ashes 
sleep — the desire to provide for children — the prospect of 
wealth and comfort — the excitement of advancing civilization 
around them, propelled by the wakeful minds, strong arms, 
and increasing wealth of the white man, will not start our 
people from their supineness and set them to cultivate their 
lands, nothing will do it, and our people must give place to 
those who will make that use of the soil which the almighty 
Maker of the world intended should be made." 

These fee-simple titles have already been of incalculable 
benefit to the people. They furnish another cause for their 
attachment to their ever-generous monarch. There were cir- 
cumstances which justified a reference, by himself, to this 
theme, in his opening speech before the Parliament of April, 
1853. In that single sentence there is something at once 
eloquent and unique : 



FEE-SIMPLE TITLES. 



141 



" Upon your loyalty and patriotism I rely for the support 
of my rights, and for the preservation of the liberies which 
are guaranteed to my people. For their welfare I freely gave 
up, in the division of lands, much of my territorial rights, to 
the injury of my private revenues. I confide in the repre- 
sentatives of my people, who are thereby benefited, to furnish 
at all times, what means may be wanting for the due support 
of my crown, in just proportion to the revenues of my king- 
dom." 

A few of the public lands have been sold, and their pro- 
ceeds have benefited the government revenues.^ 

But one of the most beneficial systems that could be adopt- 
ed by the government would be a judicious tax on real es- 
tate. It would have a tendency to crush some of the land- 
speculations of many foreigners, who would be induced either 
to forsake their schemes of monopoly, or, to meet the expenses 
incurred by a tax, cultivate the soil, and thus find employ- 
ment for hundreds of native subjects. It would reduce the 
fabulous value of real estate throughout the islands, but espe- 
cially in towns and villages. It would increase activity, hap- 
piness, and enterprise among the lower orders of the people, 
and be a source of gain to the national finances. The empty 
boast that it is the only nation on earth where the soil is not 
taxed, is countervailed by the slavery of indolence which non- 
taxation imposes on thousands of the people. 

Having left the battle-ground, and indulged a few specula- 
tions relative to the topics I have just glanced at, I found that 
I had forsaken the regular path. In a general sense it mat- 
tered but little, for the plains over which I was traveling 

* The following Table is from the Report of the Minister of the 
Interior for 1850 : 



Previous 
to Jan. 1, 

1847, 
In 1847, 
In 1848, 
In 1849, 
In 1850, 

Total, 


No. 


Acres. 


• 
Fath. 


Price. 


Oahu. 


Maui. 


Hawaii. 


Kauai. 


Acres. 


Fath. 


Acres. 


Fath. 'Acres. 


Fath. 


Acres. 


Fath. 


6 
62 
40 
80 
59 


850 

2,297 

1,091 

14,845 

8,207 


648 
115 
805 
475 
151 


$ Cts. 

576 00 

4,800 42 

2,406 74 

30,468 82 

12,834 73 


850 

168 

499 

1,999 

2,841 


648 
457 

373 
501 

O 1 1 


1,366 

213 

10,318 

4,320 


1,183 
431 
231 
621 


762- 
169 
653 
545 


895 
605 
348 
363 


209 

1,875 
500 


605 
605 


247 


27,292 


984 


51,086 71 


6,357 : 1,146 


16,219 47 


2,130:1,001 


2,585 






242 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

were hemmed in by two chains of lofty mountains. In a par- 
ticular sapse, however, it was of material importance ; for, 
although I could not easily lose myself, I might get entangled 
in some ravine, and be compelled to retrace my course. A 
drizzling rain began to fall ; but it was only the precursor of 
the heavy rain-storm ahead. I was nine miles from Ewa, 
and a long distance from any house in which I could take 
refuge from the storm. I was now in a deep ravine, through 
which a heavy mountain torrent was sweeping. There was 
no alternative but to go forward. Plunging into the stream, 
my beast was borne rapidly down to a fording-place nearly 
half a mile below, where he managed to pick his way to the 
opposite shore. After a weary search, I at length discovered 
an egress on the Waialua side of the ravine, and addressed 
myself to ascend the rugged steep. After repeated efforts, the 
ascent was achieved ; but the horse stood on the brow of the 
hill, panting and covered with foam, and manifesting an un- 
willingness to proceed any further. 

Peering through the gathering mists, and leaving the ravine 
on my right, I congratulated myself on finding the regular 
road. But my position was any thing but agreeable. En- 
tirely alone, with a tired horse, the rain-storm sweeping toward 
me with the speed of the wind, and ignorant of the path, what, 
I asked myself, would happen next ? If the road would re- 
lieve me of all further embarrassments, I was in that. But I 
was doomed to re-enact, to a serious extent, the scenes of the 
previous day ; and yet I forbear all I can of their description. 
The rain increased now to a fury, outstripping any thing of 
the kind I had ever seen, either among the Andes, or on the 
Isthmus of Panama. To increase my difficulties, my horse 
faced about — as most horses would have done — with the evi- 
dent intention of returning to Ewa, while I *vas equally de- 
termined he should not. My only alternative was to dismount, 
and hold him where he stood. Shade of Mohammed ! how 
it rained. It seemed to fall from the clouds in sheets. And 
there I stood, trying to urge that horse along, and wishing that 
he would expire, or that the earth would open and receive 



EXTRAORDINARY HORSEMANSHIP. ^43 

him, so that I might make some sort of a motion through the 
chilling rain that was streaming down into my boots. Now 
it was that I fully appreciated the commendation bestowed on 
him by his venerable master — " very slow!" but "very 
safe /" The reader may probably think my good wishes for 
that " safe" steed very emphatic ; but I sincerely hope he 
may never be placed in a situation which can call forth such 
reflections. It has been my good or bad luck to ride on nearly 
every species of the quadruped family, but ilmt horse was the 
prince of nondescripts. If the reader can picture to his own 
mind the immortal " Don (oluixote," mounted on. his no less 
distinguished " Rozinante," as he went to wage war against 
the Briarean arms of the wind-mill ; or the undoubted " Sir 
Doughty Hudibras," mounted on a steed which had recently 
left his tail on a hook in the stable wall, as Butler describes 
him ; or if he can imagine the embarrassments that befell the 
pious and prudent " Vicar of Wakefield," when he stood in 
the fair trying to dispose of his faithful old horse " Blackberry," 
then, and only then, can he form an idea of my own appear- 
ance with that horse and in that storm. To say I was pa- 
tient under such circumstances would be to depart from the 
truth. No man could have kept cool, unless his soul had been 
suddenly metamorphosed into an icicle — a transformation not 
much to be desired. I would have preferred to be tied, like 
" Mazeppa," to a wild horse that would haste away with a 
lightning speed, until towns and cities, day and night, and 
almost every thing human, had been left far behind. 

But there is an end to all things ; and there was a termin- 
ation to that rain, not less than my use of that beast. The 
storm swept past. The skies, which a short time before 
seemed wedded to the gloom of night, were again lightened up 
by the golden sun-rays. At this moment the scene was ex- 
ceedingly grand and imposing. On the right of the elevated 
plains ranged the Konahuanui Mountains ; on the left, those 
of Kaala. Before me, and in the rear, was a fine view of the 
Pacific laving the shores of the island. 

From this elevation, Waialua was visible at a distance of 



144 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

nearly eight miles, at which place I arrived after a fatiguing 
ride of six hours, but a good horse would have carried me 
there in two. 

The Mission station at Waialua is one of delightful repose. 
Many of its beautiful features owed their existence to the su- 
pervision and industry of the then resident missionary, Mr. 
Emerson, whose place among the native population is that of 
a father in the midst of his children. 

The climate at this station is much cooler, more pleasant, 
and freer from dust than at Honolulu. This may be attrib- 
uted to its being located on the north side of the island, which 
is exposed more immediately to the action of the northeast 
trade-winds that come sweeping in from the ocean. The sum- 
mer heat is indicated by the thermometer at 75° to 80° ; the 
winter temperature usually at 60°. When I visited Waialua, 
it was in the middle of February. There were several acres 
of Indian corn growing at a height of four or five feet. And 
while many of my friends in the north of the United States 
were heavily booted, and incased in overcoats buttoned close 
up to the chin, I was enjoying the luxury of a public bath in 
the beautiful stream that flows through the village. 

Waialua (meeting of the two waters) is situated at the base 
of the Konahuanui range, on its western slope. From the 
centre of the village the scenery is exceedingly fine. The 
rugged slopes of the Kaala range rise at a short distance ; and 
down their sides, during the rainy season, numerous cascades 
may be seen leaping down one after another, in swift succes- 
sion, like sheets of polished silver. The district is watered by 
five streams that have their source in the neighboring mount- 
ains, and flow down the romantic valleys. The view seaward 
surpasses any thing else in this region. The surf comes roll- 
ing in from the ocean with the speed of the swiftest courser, 
leaving its white foam on the beach, and sending its solemn 
murmurs far over the adjoining plains. Sometimes, during a 
heavy northwest gale, it rises to a height of thirty to forty feet 
in nearly a perpendicular crest. At such periods, it presents 
a scene of such terrific sublimity as no language can describe. 



MISSIONARIES' WELCOME. 145 

Occasionally it has rushed up the beach, sweeping away neigh- 
boring dwellings, and causing a large amount of ruin. 

I wish I could fully portray the generous, unostentatious 
welcome extended by most of the Sandwich Island mission- 
aries to the traveler. That they have their faults I will not 
deny ; but they have their virtues. They are men only, sub- 
jected to the same frailties, passions, impulses, that are inher- 
ent to the great progeny of Adam. But there is something 
about their welcome to the respectable stranger that makes 
him forget his toils, and elevates them in his own estimation. 
I had not been in Waialua more than two hours "before I re- 
ceived a courteous invitation from a superannuated missionary 
residing on the east side of the river. I had never seen him, 
and was personally a stranger to himself and family. Most 
sincerely do I wish that thousands of fastidious devotees to that 
deity, Ceremony, so blindly worshiped in all public commu- 
nities, could have witnessed the unpretending courtesies which 
that good man bestowed on me. It was so in regard to Mr. 
Emerson, at whose residence I first called. These men had 
spent half of their lives on the group, among the semi-civilized 
natives ; and yet they had not lost a particle of that polish and 
dignity, that ease and complacency, which make a man feel 
quite at home, and stamp the character of his entertainer with 
the permanent solidity of one of Nature's noblemen. A man 
may have all the polish which philosophy, rhetoric, and moral 
science can bestow upon the intelligence of the most profound 
student, yet, if he be destitute of that moral honesty and cour- 
tesy which good old dame Nature bestows on her favorite chil- 
dren, there will be something lacking. What do Persian car- 
pets, and Turkish ottomans, and embroidered damasks amount 
to, if you have the slightest idea that you are not a truly wel- 
come guest ? Of what avail would be all the gorgeous wealth 

" Of Ormus and of Ind," 
unless its distribution be sanctified by a generous spirit, which 
teaches you to enjoy rather than admire ? I ask no better 
welcome, no truer generosity, than have many a time been 
bestowed on me by those Sandwich Island missionaries. 

G 



146 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

A few days after my arrival at Waialua, I was invited by 
Mr. Emerson to accompany him to his dairy at Mokuleia. It 
is a small settlement, or scattered village rather, about six 
miles directly west of his residence. On our journey there, I 
had a good opportunity of seeing the rich plains stretching for 
miles in that direction. The soil can be well cultivated with- 
out the means of irrigation. Those plains contain more than 
twenty square miles that are capable of producing cotton, 
sugar-cane, corn, indigo, &c, to almost any extent, and yet 
they are permitted to remain almost a total waste. 

On arriving at Mokuleia, I perceived that Mr. Emerson 
had a small farm under cultivation. Corn was flourishing 
admirably. It had a touch of Yankeeism about it that made 
me feel quite at home. But the principal object of attraction 
there was a dairy. It was in its infancy, but promised an 
extensive success at no distant day. At that period it was 
yielding one hundred pounds per month of the finest butter, 
which commanded a ready sale in Honolulu at fifty cents per 
pound. In view of the capabilities of the soil, it is surprising 
that so little has yet been achieved in agricultural pursuits. 
The dairy business might become an extensive and lucrative 
employ. Pasture is abundant and perennial. Cattle easily 
and rapidly multiply. Streams of the purest water abound 
in every location where pasture can be obtained. With the 
right kind of men — thorough go-ahead Yankees, and a little 
capital, together with the right kind of governmental protec- 
tion, the agricultural portions of the group could be rendered 
a terrestrial paradise. 

On returning to Waialua, we met with a most amusing 
specimen of native eccentricity in dress. On a rising part of 
the plain, and in front of his humble abode, stood an old man, 
watching our approach apparently with the most profound 
interest. His personal figure was enough to produce a smile 
upon the countenance of the most stoical moralist. He had 
unfortunately lost one eye, but the sense of sight appeared to 
centre, with a two-fold capacity, in the other. His hair, white 
with age, stood straight up on his head. His entire suit con- 



IMPROVEMENT AMONG NATIVES. ^47 

sisted of a short blue woolen shirt, and a tattered cotton vest, 
probably once the property of a foreign school-boy. The vest 
was by no means too long, and, although very tight, was but- 
toned up with the most scrupulous care. He seemed to be 
totally ignorant of every other necessary appendage, such as 
unmentionables, &c., &c. Be these things as they might, he 
was as careless and merry as a mere youth. With his one 
eye he watched us until he saw we were immediately oppo- 
site him, when he saluted us with an exceedingly good-natured 
"aloha!" and drew a long breath, as though he had ridded 
himself of a serious responsibility. He maintained his posi- 
tion, and kept that one eye upon us until we were about to 
disappear. 

But it may not be supposed that this old Hawaiian was a 
correct specimen of the present generation of his countrymen. 
True, volumes might be filled merely with the descriptions 
of the personal appearance of the natives every where on the 
group. But in no part of the group have the natives made 
more progress in civilization than at Waialua. Fifteen or 
sixteen years ago, there were but two persons in the whole 
district who appeared in church clad merely in shirt or pan- 
taloons. At that period all the women were dressed simply in 
kapa, or native cloth. The people were generally indolent, 
cherishing a profound dislike to an innovation of the customs 
of their fathers. Now, however, they are well clothed with 
imported cloths, silks, &c, and are paying considerable atten- 
tion to various kinds of industry. 

One of the strongest evidences of advancement is the native 
house of worship. It is a noble structure, composed of black 
lava, and cornered with a substantial sand-stone. The walls 
are well plastered on the inside. A short time prior to my 
visit, a shingle roof was put on it, at a cost of $1800. The 
interior is neatly arranged. On the front of every slip is 
marked, in bold characters, the name of the principal occu- 
pant. In nearly every slip, and quietly reposing on the seat, 
or in some prominent position, I noticed a singular appendage 
— a small calabash, or gourd ( Cucurbita lagenaria), which 



148 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

was sacredly retained as a receptacle for the superfluous saliva 
of the worshipers ; in plain English, they were Sandwich Isl- 
and spittoons ! But these are nothing when a person becomes 
accustomed to them. On the whole, the fabric is remarkably 
neat and commodious. It was all done by natives, under the 
supervision of a foreign mechanic. Its capacity is 1200 per- 
sons. I was informed that it was the third building the con- 
gregation have erected in Waialua. 

At this part of the island, Popery and Mormonism have 
reared their standards and obtained their proselytes. These 
two systems are bitterly opposed one to the other, and both 
to Protestantism. Between them all there is a triple warfare. 
The followers of the Pope regard the " Latter-day Saints" as 
being entirely without the pale of salvation, and unceremo- 
niously consign them to the hottest apartments in a worse re- 
gion than Purgatory. On the contrary, the followers of " Joe 
Smith" claim a plenary inspiration from God himself, and as- 
sert their authority and prerogative to reform Catholics and 
Protestants equally alike. In support of these designs, they 
impose upon the too credulous natives by professing to work 
miracles, and to have the " gift of tongues." In short, they 
do every thing but metamorphose stones into food, raise the 
dead from their graves, and sundry other things which come 
under the category of the supernatural. 

Contrary to the best established ecclesiastical regulations, 
these disciples of the slaughtered Prophet require no evidence 
of a moral change prior to the reception of proselytes into their 
communion. This modern laxity of saintship has been pro- 
ductive of a few rich scenes at Waialua. The natives are al- 
most amphibious. To them it is no " cross" to submit to a 
public immersion. One day a few young men went to their 
new teachers to be baptized by them. The rite was imme- 
diately administered. A short time after, when they would 
point to these hopeful converts as an evidence of success, they 
had thrown off all their baptismal vows, and come to the om- 
inous conclusion that all was a mere farce. 

But this was only one out of the many instances of cun- 



NOVEL "FAREWELL!" 149 

ning so well understood by Hawaiians generally. So skilled 
are they in the art of deception, that they can hardly be fath- 
omed by those who have lived among them for years. When 
they do not wish to be understood by foreigners who can use 
their language, they will conduct a sort of monosyllabic chant, 
pronouncing, in a disconnected form, the names of persons, 
things, virtues, vices, hopes, wishes, &c, &c. Sometimes they 
will hold a significant conversation with their fingers. At 
other times the same purposes are effected by whistling. It 
is difficult to decide whether these practices have in view the 
retention of some old Pagan custom, or the avoidance of a de- 
tection in the conception and commission of crime, the perpe- 
tration of which would be recognized by .the penal laws of the 
nation. 

I was present during both sessions of the congregation form- 
ing the Protestant Church on the Sunday I remained at Wai- 
alua, and my presence among them naturally excited their 
curiosity. Their gentlemanly teacher showed me a seat near 
his pulpit ; consequently, more eyes were fixed on me than on 
himself. The afternoon services had come to a close. The 
lingering audience asked me, through Mr. Emerson, the mis- 
sionary, if they could be permitted to step up and wish me 
farewell, for they might never see me again. I answered in 
the affirmative. With few exceptions, every man, woman, 
and child came up to where I stood, and, grasping me warm- 
ly by the hand, wished me a hearty " aloha .'" (love, or salu- 
tation). This ceremony, so novel and simple, consumed a 
considerable time. Although I had done nothing to merit 
this display of good feeling, it was perfectly in unison with 
what they had told their pastor : " Let us say aloha to the 
haole (foreigner), for we have a great love for him." 



150 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



CHAPTER XI. 

ISLAND OF KAUAI. 

a 

FKOM HONOLULU TO KOLOA. 

Hogging Scenes at Sea. — Kauai at Daylight.-»-Aspect of the Shores. 
— Location of the Island. — Its physical Character. — Koloa and 
Harbor. — Remarkable Caves. — Singular Phenomenon. — Revolting 
offer by a Parent. 

Kauai is the northwesternmost island of any importance in 
the group, and it is cut off from Oahu by the usually stormy 
Straits of Ieiewaho. In former years the passage was effected 
in small canoes ; and many are the singular and daring ad- 
ventures spoken of in relation to the Hawaiian kings, princes, 
and warriors of past generations. 

The modern mode of transit is by native schooners. Occa- 
sionally a whale ship bound to the Arctic Ocean calls at Ko- 
loa, on this island, for supplies ; and he is a lucky fellow who 
can procure this mode of inter-island navigation, for he stands 
a good chance to escape the horrors of those native vessels. 

On my passage down to Kauai, it was my good fortune to 
be conveyed there on board the " Helen Augusta," a first-class 
whaler bound to the Polar Seas. She had been to one of the 
windward islands of the group on business, and merely touch- 
ed at Honolulu for the captain, whom I accompanied on board. 
The topsails were squared, and as we stood out a little sea- 
ward, I soon became aware that among the crew there were 
two refractory sailors, who were trying to incite a spirit of dis- 
content. Before leaving for the windward ports, they had re- 
ceived a bonus of their wages — for they had been shipped in 
Honolulu — and their discontent was nothing less than a wish 
to get back to the town. They were desirous to go and spend 
the balance of their money with some of the girls on shore, 



FLOGGING SCENES AT SEA. \rft 

and, in the hope of achieving their purposes, had refused duty, 
and lavished every sort of abuse upon the officers of the ship. 
The captain, however, was made of sterner materials than they 
supposed. As soon as the ship was steering her course for 
Kauai, he changed a portion of his dress, loaded a revolver, 
and came out on deck. 

" Come aft here, all hands !" shouted the captain. 

The crew came aft, as requested. 

" Those of you who are inclined to do your duty will step 
over to the starboard side of the ship !" added the captain. 

The whole crew, the two men above referred .to excepted, 
went over. 

" So there are but two of you who are dissatisfied with my 
ship and myself, and I will give you twenty minutes to decide 
whether or not you will return to your duty," said the captain. 

But there the two men stood, or leaning, rather, against the 
bulwarks, looking defiance at their commander. 

" Your time is nearly up," he said, as he passed the lashes 
of a " cat" through his hands. " I am sorry to be compelled 
to act sternly with you ; but I shall go my voyage, and main- 
tain my authority as captain of my own ship." 

The two men remained immovable ; but they merely looked 
up to the captain's face, and told him to go to — that is, to the 
place where the Koran consigns all the infidels on earth with- 
out the least distinction. But the captain yet bore with them. 

The fatal moment came at last. The ringleader was 
stripped to his naked back, and tied up in the rigging. De- 
liberately but heavily the " instrument of torture" fell in reg- 
ular succession. Every stroke left a bloody seam on the back 
of the sailor. He fainted, calling for water ; but he had re- 
ceived a " dozen" lashes. 

The other delinquent was tied up in like manner. He 
pleaded for mercy, but it was too late. 

" Your repentance must be based on something more than 
a mere promise," replied the captain. " I have a very ugly 
temper when it is fairly roused. It grieves me to punish you, 
but I shall do my duty at whatever risk." 



152 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

He did his duty. The man was flogged and cut down from 
the rigging, and his lacerated back was carefully dressed by 
the captain's own hand. The crew was once more convened, 
and they were forbidden, during the entire voyage, to refer to 
the subject in the hearing of the offenders. The men went to 
their duty. The captain retired to his cabin, where he wept 
like a child, and hardly a mouthful of food crossed his lips that 
day. 

It was the first time I had ever seen this hellish and de- 
basing mode of punishment, and may it be the last. My very 
soul sickened during its administration, and yet I was com- 
pelled to arrive at the conclusion that, in this instance at least, 
the master of that ship had done nothing more than his duty 
in maintaining his authority and the peace of the crew. 

During the remainder of that day, and through the follow- 
ing night, we ran down to Kauai under " close-reefed topsails." 
At daylight next morning we were within three leagues of the 
southeast shore of the island. It was a scene of awful sub- 
limity and savage grandeur. The light fleecy clouds, so com- 
mon at dawn in the tropics, were gently reposing on the sum- 
mits of the lofty mountains, beautifully and strangely contrast- 
ing with the dark foliage which was sprinkled over their bold 
and hoary sides, while the sun, just springing up, as it were, 
out of the ocean, shed a flood of nature's poetry over the en- 
tire scene. 

The shores of the island are bold and impressive in their 
appearance ; basaltic in their nature, in some places forming 
a wall from the sea, and in others, piles of rugged rocks as 
black as night, they seem to stand as if to oppose the progress 
of the surf that breaks over or against them. There are wild 
receptacles resembling the work of art, but, in reality, worn 
into the solid rocks by the action of storms during many a 
century past. And amid the savage grandeur, some isolated 
mound of sand may rear its clear fair brow to the gaze of the 
coaster. Of the shore, as a vessel approaches Koloa, it may 
truly be said : 



ITS PHYSICAL CHARACTER. ^53 

" It was a wild and breaker-beaten coast, 

"With cliffs above, and a broad sandy shore, 

Guarded by shoals and rocks as by a host, 

With here and there a creek, whose aspect wore 

A better welcome to the tempest-toss' d ; 

And rarely ceased the haughty billow's roar. 

Save on the dead long summer days, which make 

The outstretch' d ocean glitter like a lake." 

A vessel would have no chance if cast away there. 

The location of the island can not be surpassed. Its most 
northern point lies in 22° 17' north latitude ; its southern, in 
21° 56'. Its longitude is embraced between 159° 41', and 
160° 8' west. Its romantic retreats, and the refreshing breezes 
which always sweep over it, render it a delightful place of re- 
sort in the hot summer months. The thermometer usually 
ranges from 60° to 80°. No chilling winds contract the foli- 
age or wither the flowers ; no sirocco sends its terrible breath 
over plains or mountains, to induce fretfulness or enervation 
on the part of man. The mountains are more or less exposed 
to the genial showers of an eternal April, the plains and val- 
leys to the smile of an unfading summer. It is such a " bright 
little isle," as the distinguished poet Moore sighed for, 

" "Where a leaf never dies in the still blooming bowers, 
And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers." 

It is a land associated with a long race of kings, chiefs, and 

warriors ; with battles, victories, tradition, and song. Its 

scenes can not fail to be deeply impressed in the memory of 

a traveler, even after he has left it for years. 

Kauai is the oldest island of the group : its soil is deeper, and 
there is more arable land. This theory of age is amply sus- 
tained by geological facts, not less than by native tradition. 
It is said that Pele recognized this island as the first theatre 
on which she commenced her fiery devastations ; and that, 
having spread desolation every where in her path, she consec- 
utively visited every other island of the group, until she ar- 
rived at Hawaii, where she has ever since lived. 

So much for the mythological legends of the old Hawaiians. 
But whatever apparent prodigies these mythical relations may 

G2 



154 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

seem to recognize, certain it is that, in a geological point of 
view, volcanic action did commence here. The entire island 
seems to have been formed by the successive eruptions of 
Mauna Waialeale— the great central peak — when in a state 
of activity. The numerous extinct craters in the district of 
Koloa and elsewhere were nothing less than the vent-holes 
through which immense currents of gaseous matter escaped, 
thereby preventing the island from being blown into countless 
fragments. So many ages have elapsed since the red rain of 
these volcanic fires, that the small craters have sunk to mere 
mounds, some of which are scarcely distinguishable. And 
where these tangible hills disgorged themselves, a deep rich 
soil has formed in many places, and vegetation has widely 
spread. 

As the traveler pursues his way to Hawaii, and examines 
rocks, plains, and valleys, he will easily perceive a gradual 
approach to a greater youthfulness of formation. 

Aside from the minutice of geological science, the physical 
conformation of Kauai is grand and imposing. Two or three 
chains of mountains, irregularly formed, bisect the island. 
Above them all, like an Atlas, Waialeale rises to an elevation 
of four thousand feet, and is cloud-capped during a great part 
of the year. It would almost seem to be the abode of some 
discarded Hawaiian deity, who had retired there to retain, if 
possible, his immortality ; throwing around its awful summit 
clouds, shadows, darkness, and mystery, and forbidding the 
approach of mortals. From this clouded summit stretch lofty 
and rugged table-lands as far as the west and northwest sides 
of the island, where they terminate in tremendous precipices, 
from one to four thousand feet high, pierced by immense cav- 
erns, into which roll the foaming waves of the Pacific. From 
the summit of Waialeale, frequent and fertilizing showers are 
wafted over uplands, lowlands, plains, and valleys. Emphat- 
ically it may be said that these showers are the very life- 
blood of the soil. All around the island, streams — some of 
which are noble rivers — may be seen rushing to the embrace 
of the treacherous and insatiate deep. 



' Mllill 




KOLOA AND HARBOR. 157 

My first landing-place on Kauai was Koloa, the most rug- 
ged district on the island. It is twelve miles long by five 
broad, and has a gradual rise as the interior is approached. 
Not much of the soil is under cultivation, nor can it be, for 
the whole district is more or less covered with the heavy vol- 
canic stones once thrown out from the numerous volcanoes. 
It is said to derive its name from ko, cane, and loa, great or 
long, referring to the large cane cultivated in that region. 
Since whalers have been in the habit of calling there to re- 
cruit for the Polar Seas, a strong spirit of competition has been 
induced among the natives. Koloa is seen to most advantage 
at a distance of two miles out at sea. The native houses 
scattered widely over the gradually ascending plains, the sug- 
ar-house on the Koloa sugar-plantation, the Mission Church 
and school-house, and the lofty hills that bound the horizon, 
form a pleasant picture. 

The harbor is merely an open roadstead. Excepting the 
times, however, when heavy winds blow from the south — 
and they occur usually in the winter season — vessels can pro- 
cure a reliable anchorage. 

When a stranger first lands on the beach, he can not fail 
to become amused at the varied scenes which spring up, as 
if by magic, before him. Here are calabashes of pai, raw 
fish, bunches of bananas, and bundles of sugar-cane, that are 
offered for sale to the foreigner, forgetting that he may never 
have eaten raw fish, much less have tasted poi, in his life. 
His ears are greeted with detached sentences, composed of 
Hawaiian and English nearly as unintelligible ; while his eye 
rests on groups of natives of every age, scattered round in 
nearly every conceivable position, and habited in almost every 
kind of semi-civilized costume. Further on is a crowd of 
sharpers — natives, of course, who have learned the art of ex- 
torting money — who are very desirous of hiring their miser- 
able horses to a foreigner for $1 to $1 50 per mile, and some 
foreigners are foolish enough to pay the sum demanded by 
them. 

A large extent of the lower part of Koloa is cavernous. To 



158 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

these vast chambers access may be obtained by descending 
through narrow apertures formed in the roofs. Doubtless they 
were formed when the neighboring volcanoes were active, and 
the torrents of lava came rolling down into the sea. The upper 
portion of the immense beds were cooled by an exposure to 
the atmosphere, while the molten rivers pursued their sinewy 
path until they either found a natural outlet, or were lost amid 
the surrounding dikes. Where many of these rivers of lava 
have rolled, they have left cavernous formations behind them. 

But the most interesting of these caves is the one termed 
by the natives Niholvxi. It may be found a short distance 
to the left of the road, about two thirds of a mile below the 
mission station. The entrance is formed by a natural orifice 
in the roof, caused probably by a decomposition of the crust of 
lava. Some rude steps have been formed out of blocks of lava 
rock, loosely piled together, and designed to aid in the descent. 
On a close examination, I found it to be four hundred yards in 
length, and its widest part nearly a hundred feet. The roof 
presented a continuity of rough knots of lava, looking as if they 
were just cooling from a state of fusion, and of varied shape 
and altitude. Throughout the whole length of the cave — 
which was tortuous — the floor had a gradual declination, and 
was covered with a thick unctuous slime that had been form- 
ed by percolation through the roof. Toward the lower end a 
visitor is compelled to crawl along on his hands and feet, tak- 
ing care to secure his lamp from extinction ; and when he 
reaches the extremity, he sees a perpendicular opening — broken 
through by the falling in of portions of the massive roof — 
through which he can emerge into the golden sunlight. 

The most airy and visible part of this subterranean cave is 
directly under the entrance, where the great masses of rock 
seem as though about to fall on a visitor's head. Away from 
the entrance, the gloom is " darkness visible," hardly possible 
to penetrate by the light of a flaming torch. 

This cave has been applied to a variety of purposes. It 
has been used as a hiding-place in time of war. When a re- 
cent epidemic swept over the group, it was used as a hospital 



SINGULAR PHENOMENON. J59 

for the sick and dying. Its last living occupant was an insane 
woman, whom her unfeeling children had abandoned to abso- 
lute want and solitude. 

But its most special use was set apart for warriors, who, in 
past generations, came here to revel with their paramours. 
The Tartarean gloom was slightly relieved by torches ingeni- 
ously formed of strmgs of the candle-nut {Meurites triloba). 
Beneath this rugged roof, and amid this darkness — their faces 
strangely reflecting the feeble torch-light — and divested of 
every particle of apparel, they promiscuously united in dancing 
the hula hula.* To a reader of the " Annals of Tacitus" it 
may be unnecessary to say more than that they enacted worse 
scenes than disgraced the celebration of Nero's nuptials with 
his freedman. "Wives were exchanged, and so were concu- 
bines ; fathers despoiled their own daughters, and brothers 
deemed it no crime to perpetrate incest. For the first time in 
my life, I wished that rocks had tongues ; for I ardently longed 
to hear the startling revelations which, under such circum- 
stances, they could have made of scenes that had been enacted 
in that subterranean retreat. 

At a distance of nearly two miles immediately southwest of 
Koloa, there is a curious phenomenon, called by the natives 
puhi (to blow or puff), by foreigners the Spouting Horn, from 
its striking resemblance to the spouting of a whale. The phe- 
nomenon is caused by the waves of the sea rushing into an 
ocean- worn cavern of basaltic rocks. As the sea rolls in, the 
atmosphere is driven back to the extremity of the cave, where, 
incapable of further compression, a powerful reaction takes 
place. The water is then driven back toward the entrance ; 
but, in its course, a large portion of it is forced through an 
opening in the roof, and rises in a fountain to the height of a 
number of feet. Sometimes, when a heavy south wind comes 
in from the ocean, the water is forced into the cave with a 
tremendous velocity, and the fountain assumes the form of a 
beautiful wheat-sheaf nearly a hundred feet high. At such 
times, the visitor is more than repaid for his trouble in going 

* The licentious dance. 



X60 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

to see it. There are several such phenomena around the 
shores of the archipelago. 

The path leading to this Spouting Horn, although short, is 
very rugged and fatiguing. Near the site of the phenomenon 
is a small but scattered village, and, as the day was very warm 
and dry, I concluded to go into a house, to smoke a cigar and 
procure a draught of water. My intention was carried out. 
The water was cheerfully given me, and a light to my cigar 
was procured. Feeling a little tired from the effects of climb- 
ing basaltic rocks, I took the liberty to stretch myself on a 
mat, smoking and resting at the same time. Very soon the 
crowd of natives, whom curiosity had attracted to the spot 
when I first entered the hut, had quietly dispersed ; and as I 
felt like indulging in a short siesta, I commenced smoking a 
second cigar. Few moments, however, had now elapsed, when 
in came two young girls, both of whom were the daughters 
of my dusky host. On perceiving a stranger there, they at 
once commenced a mirthful conversation, that raised me up 
in a sitting posture, and favored me with an opportunity of 
surveying their personal appearance. The youngest was a 
mere child ; the oldest of the two was about sixteen, and ma- - 
tured. I shall never forget the exquisite beauty of that girl's 
development. Had it not been for her drapery— an only gar- 
ment, which I regarded as an absolute neglige — she certain- 
ly would have been no unfitting companion of Hebe when she 
handed round the nectar at the banquets of the gods. I in- 
stinctively stopped smoking — and so would you have done, 
reader ! under the same circumstances — and sat gazing at 
that witching girl, with my hand supporting my chin, and 
my elbow resting on my knee. I humbly acknowledge my 
weakness ; I own I felt spell-bound beneath the mischievous 
smile that played on her mouth. And then 

"her eyes 

Were black as death, their lashes the same hue, 
Of downcast length, in whose silk shadow lies 

Deepest attraction ; for when to the view 

Forth from its raven fringe the full glance flies, 

Ne'er with such force the swiftest arrow flew ; 



REVOLTING OFFER BY A PARENT, JgJ 

'Tis as the snake late coil'd, who pours his length, 
And hurls at once his venom and his strength." 

I am not conscious of my own appearance at the moment 
I describe, but the father of the girl teas; and, resolving to 
take advantage of what he deemed a very favorable opportu- 
nity, he crept up to me and said, in unmistakable language, 
"Makimajci ka wahine o he Kanaka ?" pointing, at the 
same time, to the girl, who, he said, was his daughter. I un- 
derstood him to assure me that I could appropriate his daugh- 
ter's honor, if I chose to do so, by paying him an amount 
equal to what he held in his hand — a single pieee of silver ! 
"Whatever my own thoughts may have been a short time pre- 
vious to such a revolting offer, they had nothing to do with 
the offer itself. Suffice it to say, that my indignation became 
my guardian, and, without any further ceremony, I doubled 
my fist, gave the avaricious parent a blow in the face, and 
walked off about my business, leaving a sincere " aloha" 
(love, or salutation) with his strangely-beautiful daughter. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Female Penitentiarv. — Character of the Prisoners. — The Jailer. — 

m 

Statistics of Crime. — Wrong Legislation. — An instance of Fanati- 
cism. — Curious Method to obtain Money. — Sugar Plantations. — 
Indigo. — Former attempts to cultivate Silk. — Sunday at Koloa. — 
A Native Preacher. — Specimens of Hawaiian Eloquence. — Liber- 
ality of Native Christians. 

Koloa is disgraced by a Penitentiary, which has been erect- 
ed solely for the captivity of those luckless members of the sex 
who have taken a little too much liberty with the Moral Law. 
The building is nearly a hundred feet long by thirty wide. 
The walls are composed of lava laid up in cement, and possess 
too much strength for the easy escape of the basely-insulted 
captives. The whole is divided into three apartments, con- 
taining what are intended as beds for prisoners, but which, in 
reality, are not fit resting-places for weary dogs. 



162 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

I found in it three prisoners, who appeared to be deserving 
of a better place of abode. They were doing work for the 
benefit of the government, and probably to keep out of what 
might be deemed further mischief. Their employment was 
to manufacture a small rope out of the fibres of the native 
rush, atatai (Scirpus lacustris). It was all done by hand, 
and, when finished, exceedingly neat. The prisoners were 
young women whose faces indicated any thing but moral guilt. 
This impression was confirmed by an incident that occurred 
while I was on the spot. One of the females had a very pre- 
possessing mien. As I stood looking at her, she raised her 
eyes to mine, but they instantly fell, and the poor creature cov- 
ered her face with her faded and tattered garment, and burst 
into tears. What was the cause of her sudden agony I could 
not decide. Her companions also appeared much embarrassed 
at my presence, and I felt that, if guilty of the sin charged 
against them, they had not grown callous, and that they were 
in the wrong school for the improvement of their morals. Of 
their true character, and the cause of their incarceration, I 
formed my own conclusions, and I shall express them in the 
course of this chapter. 

But the most loathsome and disgusting object in the whole 
area of that prison was the jailer himself. If ever there was 
what is vulgarly termed " a hard case," it was that very man. 
I ransacked Anthon's " Classical Dictionary" — so far as I 
could recall its contents by memory — for some suitable object 
with which I could compare this nameless wretch, but I had 
to return to my first impression, and that was, that he would 
make a fitting associate for the Hadean Cerberus. There was 
something about him that I can not describe ; but there was 
nothing in him that Orpheus could have lulled to sleep with 
his lyre, for his stormy passions looked out of his eyes like an 
Argus, giving him more the aspect of a demon than a man. 
Such was the keeper of three young women who had been 
brought to this hell of debauchery, doubtless by a false accu- 
sation ! I longed to silence his pulse and his passions by a 
pistol-shot. 



STATISTICS OF CRIME. 163 

I am well aware that there are those who will accuse me 
of making rash assertions ; but on this point, as on others, I 
can meet my accusers on stern ground. The prisons on the 
islands — that at Koloa not excepted — are the worst schools of 
vice that can be found on the group. A Kanaka can and will 
swear any thing to gain his purpose. It is nothing uncommon 
for a police, or any petty officer of the kingdom, to make ad- 
vances to any girl or woman to whom he takes a notion. It 
sometimes happens that the female has the moral honesty to 
refuse such overtures. The guilty wretch will go and swear 
— and he has those who will readily bear " false, witness" — 
that he caught such a woman in a guilty act, and she is forth- 
with consigned to prison, frequently without a trial, where she 
very soon learns how to violate that law which is the only 
basis of virtuous society. This was the way in which those 
female prisoners were introduced to the Penitentiary at 
Koloa. 

I wish to be very explicit on this theme. In 1846, when 
the Hon. H. C. Wyllie addressed a long series of miscella- 
neous questions to the missionaries on the group, he requested 
to know what were the prevailing vices, with their causes, 
and suggestions for their removal (Question 63). It was said, 
in reply to one cause of vice, " So loose is the prison discipline, 
that it has often been a matter of question with me whether 
it does not effect more harm than good. Some species of pun- 
ishment, that would be keenly felt and long remembered, and 
yet not injure life and health, would be preferable to the pres- 
ent mode."^ 

In his Annual Report for 1853, Chief-justice Lee says : 

" I should not feel that I had done my whole duty did I 
fail to call to the mind of the Legislature the notorious defects 
in our prison discipline. The law of 1851, providing a new 
system, has remained a dead letter. * * * * # * Most 
of our offenses are punished by imprisonment ; but, unless we 
have suitable prisons and better discipline, it will be of little 
avail to sentence prisoners. Our present jails, with one or 
* " Answers to Questions," p. 33. 



Jg4 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

two exceptions, are little better than pest-houses and schools 
of vice." * 

If prostitution were a modern feature in Hawaiian female 
character — hut it is not — fines and imprisonment are not the 
legitimate means of removing so baneful an influence from 
the lap of society. Such strictures exist in no other nation. 
The immorality, however, is coeval with society. By the 
most enlightened legislators it has ever been deemed a "neces- 
sary" evil." I wish not to be understood as advocating a vio- 
lation of the seventh precept of the Decalogue in any way 
whatever, but as being opposed to the despotism of imprison- 
ing offenders in the Hawaiian mode of imprisonment. In 
this position I stand not alone. In a speech before the House 
of Lords on the 15th of June, 1843, the Bishop of Exeter said, 
in plain language, 

" That he did not consider prostitution as a matter for legis- 
lative punishment. The punishment of prostitution he held 
to be a thing impossible. And why was it impossible ? He 
had no notion that the wisdom of man could devise a punish- 
ment that should inflict so much of suffering and of degrada- 
tion as prostitution itself. He held prostitution itself to be a 
punishment — an awful punishment, which the God of mercy 
had devised in order to terrify innocent females from falling 
into those tremendous evils which he had appointed as the 
punishment of the violation of chastity. To attempt to pun- 
ish prostitution would, in his mind, be as wild a scheme as 
if the guilty city of the plague had issued a law against the 
violent storm of brimstone and hail that destroyed it, or as if 
the Israelites in the wilderness had prepared to pass a law 
against the destroying angel !" 

The distinguished prelate uttered these words on the second 
reading of a " Bill for the Suppression of Brothels." In doing 
so. he took nothing more than a natural and historical view 
of human nature. On this theme he is ably supported by 
Hon. William L. Lee, Chief Justice of the Sandwich Islands : 

• "Annual Report of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court," 
p. 115. 



STATISTICS OF CRIME. Jg5 

" One thing is clear, namely, that the present system of fines 
does not much diminish the evil, and some other means should 
be tried. I have no faith in heavier penalties as means of 
repressing this hydra-headed sin, for public opinion will not 
sustain them ; and where laws enacted for the preservation of 
good morals go far in advance of the general voice of the na- 
tion, they fail to command respect, and defeat their own ob- 
ject."* ' 

If the application of penal laws secured an obedience to the 
requisitions of moral law, there would be more plausibility in 
their enforcement. But they do not. There are those in the 
principal towns, and even in the remote country districts, who 
earn their own subsistence by procuring vicious gratifications 
for others. It is a well-known fact, that the ruling powers are 
none too virtuous. Many of the police, who are employed, 
to a certain extent, as guardians of the public morals, are the 
most debased wretches on the group. They have set many a 
trap, not only for verdant foreigners, but for their own coun- 
trymen ; and, when the bait has been taken, they were the 
first to pounce on the unsuspecting victims, so that, as a re- 
ward for their vigilance, they might share the fine for the 
crime, amounting to $30, specified by law.f 

I have already said that fines and imprisonments do not 
stem the tide of this great national evil. It can not be denied 
that religious, not less than civil law, is in advance of the 
public morals. Where there is no moral sentiment, fines and 
imprisonments only pave the way to a farther commission of 
crime. A glance at statistical testimony will be satisfactory 
on this subject. 

On the 16th of January, 1839, the statistics of crime for 
the previous year were published in the Kumu Haivaii (Ha- 
waiian Teacher). The cases of adultery over the group num- 
bered 2464 

"In the year 1846, 164 cases of adultery were brought 

* Annual Report of Chief Justice, p. 111. 

\ Penal Code of 1850, cap. xiii., sect. 4, p. 24. 

% Hawaiian Spectator, vol. ii., p. 234. 



166 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

before the courts in Honolulu ; and it has often been said that 
a large portion of the money taken in the shops of this town 
— say three fourths — is the wages of licentiousness."^ 

In the year 1852, the number of such cases for the entire 
island of Oahu was 180, and the number of cases of fornica- 
tion was 23 5. t 

This does not look much like a decrease in crime, nor does 
it speak much for the defense of an arbitrary enactment of law. 
Because the island of Kauai has two penitentiaries, and the 
island itself is rather remotely located in the group, it is sup- 
posed that the people are more moral. But a comparison of 
the following table will show which crimes preponderate : 

Cases tried. Convictions. Acquittals. 

Fornication and adultery 75 55 20 

Illicit cohabitation 6 6 

Seduction 1 1 

Larceny 26 18 8 

Violating the Sabbath 5 2 3 

Drinking awa 13 6 7 

Malicious injury 1 1 

Assault and battery 14 11 3 

Demolishing house 3 3 

Riot 3 2 1 

Slander 10 5 5 

All other offenses 9 5 4 

Total ...166 107 59 

The sexes of the persons convicted, as near as can be ascer- 
tained, are, 

Males 72 

Females 85 

Total KV7J 

A question may now arise, Is there not a cause for such an 
extensive violation of moral law ? There is, and that cause 
originates chiefly in the character of Hawaiian legislation. On 
this theme the deliberations of the legislative body are abso- 

* Answers to Questions, p. 32. 

f Report of Chief Justice, p. 105, 106. 

X Report of Chief Justice, p. 108. See Appendix IV. 



WRONG LEGISLATION. 167 

lutely wrong. Who does not know that a prohibitory law 
only tends to increase the desire for the forbidden object ? The 
fatal curiosity of Eve has entailed infinite evils upon her prog- 
eny. So it has been in every age of the world's history, and 
amid every generation of our race. Where public sentiment 
does not recognize all moral evil as wrong, and that, too, on a 
conscientious basis, penal enactments can not enforce the rec- 
ognition, nor can they eradicate the love of evil. 

But, aside from this, the state of the laws is so chaotic, that 
their just and righteous administration is next to impossible. 
In his closing remarks, the chief justice says : 

" Another evil to which I jnvite your attention is the mul- 
tiplication of laws on the same subject, without any express 
repeal of former statutes. There has been such an enacting, 
amending, and accumulating of laws for the last ten years, re- 
lating to the same matters, that our legislation in some of its 
branches has become a perfect patch-work, which confuses 
the people, the magistrates, and I trust I shall not be thought 
guilty of disrespect when I add, the representatives themselves. 
It is of little use to say to a district justice that such and such 
a law is repealed by implication ; for his education has been 
under the ancient statutes, and he recognizes no repeal that is 
not plainly expressed in words. The necessity of an express 
repeal of such statutes as are really not in force, or about the 
force of which doubts are entertained, has been made manifest 
in the case of divorces above mentioned. More glaring instan- 
ces of the same kind might be mentioned, but such an enu- 
meration would be only wasting your time, as they can not 
have failed to come within your own knowledge. The ig- 
norance of many natives of their rights — their confusion on 
such occasions — the want of means and friends, in many in- 
stances, to assist in taking an appeal, would often lead them 
to submit to an unjust sentence, and thus defeat the great end 
in view — a fair and impartial trial. "* 

But, supposing the laws were clearly defined, another im- 
mense difficulty presents itself. The way in which the laws 
* Report of Chief Justice, p. 113, 114. 



168 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

are administered is a sufficient guarantee that virtue — female 
especially — can not properly be promoted. On a ruinous sys- 
tem of favoritism, many a man is placed in the chair of legal 
justice to commence the practice of law, very much as a med- 
ical student would commence the study of dissection and anat- 
omy. Such a course paves the way to countless evils. 

" It can not be denied that some of our magistrates are ig- 
norant of the laws, unable to give them a fair construction, 
hasty, partial, ready to prejudge a case before they have heard 
half of the testimony, and, in conclusion, to sentence without 
mercy. As a general rule, our district justices, even in cases 
where the fines to be imposed are at their discretion, not ex- 
ceeding a certain limit, are sure to carry the law to the ex- 
treme, and inflict upon offenders its severest penalty. This, 
too, is done where they have no self-interest to bias their judg- 
ment, no revenge to gratify, and apparently without a reason, 
unless it be to swell the revenue of the government. "* 

It does swell the revenue of the government, too. In 1852, 
the amount raised by the government on adultery and forni- 
cation alone over the entire group was $18,870. This sum 
would nearly cover the entire salary for the Ministerial De- 
partment. But what a sum ! It was the price of adultery, 
and, therefore, like the silver which Judas received for betray- 
ing the Nazarene, it was the price of blood ! 

But neither fines nor imprisonments are equal to the pun- 
ishment which was advocated by a professedly enlightened 
Protestant teacher as late as 1847. The "Sandwich Island 
News" of March 10th, 1847, contains an instance of fanati- 
cism which stands unequal in the history of the last two thou- 
sand years. I cite it verbatim et literatim : 
- " A correspondent of the Elele, a newspaper published in 
the native language, under the direction of the American Mis- 
sion, complains of the amount of prostitution in Lahaina and 
Honolulu, and sends an urgent appeal to the editor, Mr. R. 
Armstrong, in these words : 'Go you to the chiefs. I make 
known to you, as you ask where are the chiefs, that the Privy 
* Report of Chief Justice, p. 109, 110. 



AN INSTANCE OF FANATICISM. ^59 

Council are the chiefs at the present time. You, together with 
them, devise some measures for suppressing this offense. You 
say to the Privy Council, make a new law.' 

" The editor, in reply to this appeal, suggests the following 
for a law to be rigidly enforced : 

" ' For the first offense of moe kolohe* all the property of 
the offender shall be confiscated to the government, and he or 
she be flogged with a rope, and confined for a time in irons ! 

" ' For the second offense, the offender shall be taken to the 
ocean, and held under water till as nearly dead as possible ; 
then allowed to recover breath, and again submerged in the 
same manner ; this operation to be repeated five times, if en- 
durable, and the convict then banished to another land ! ! 

" ' For the third offense, the offender shall be hanged until 
dead, according to the word of God.' — Leviticus, xx., 10. 

" The above having been made the subject of official ani- 
madversion, and of communication to his government on the 
part of the consul of France, has been handed to us for in- 
sertion. We do not like, however, to insert it without some 
comment." 

The editor of the "News" after quoting at length the case 
of the Jewish woman,! goes on to say : 

" The attempts which have been made for the last twenty- 
five years to legislate Christianity into the faith and practice 
of the Hawaiian race, are sufficient to show, we should think, 
that heathen tribes are not to be evangelized so. To protect 
religion and its intelligent observances — to assure morality 
through all the social and domestic relations of society, is un- 
doubtedly one of the highest obligations of a good government. 
But to compel men to be religious or virtuous by statute laws, 
whose sanctions are addressed exclusively to their fears, is 
metaphysically absurd and practically impossible. The at- 
tempts to extinguish, by the terrors of the law, however ter- 
rific, or greatly to restrain, by such measures, the animal pas- 
sions of beings situated as the Hawaiians are, and hopelessly 
must be, under the present system of civil and religious treat- 

* Adultery. f See John, viii., 3-11. 

H 



170 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ment, would be as useless as to attempt to send the stars to a 
grammar-school, or to teach the planets didactic theology." 

This language, however severe its tone and aim may be, 
was spoken, or written rather, in 1847. But it is fully reit- 
erated by the Chief Justice of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1853 : 

" In my opinion, licentiousness is so deeply planted in the 
heart of this nation — the cancer is so firmly imbedded in, and 
has spread its roots so entirely throughout the body politic, 
that no skill of the legislator can cure it, and it must eventu- 
ally destroy the nation."^ 

This state of things is amply sustained by the Minister of 
Public Instruction, who, in 1847, disgraced his calling by de- 
vising the fanatical law just referred to above : 

" The sources of the public immorality above mentioned 
are stated to be the want of suitable prisons for criminals, the 
native hulas, the public dance-halls in Honolulu — declared by 
the Marshal and Prefect of Police to be the ' principal source, 
in fact, the primary cause, of the vast amount of fornication 
and adultery that have disgraced this city this last season ;' 
indolent habits, intoxicating drinks (believed to be the real 
cause of the riot in November last), the love of filthy lucre, 
illegal divorce, improper marriages, ignorance, and depraved 

appetites, "t 

Sickening to the very soul is the contemplation, not only of 
the evil itself, but the pseudo-philanthopic efforts made to 
eradicate it. Not less painful is it to reflect on the fact, that 
the above despotic law was publicly advocated by a disciple 
of Him who said to the guilty Jewess, "Neither do I condemn 
thee ; go, and sin no more!" — (John, viii., 11.) So much, 
however, for the tender mercies of ecclesiastical legislation, 
advocated by at least one prominent individual. But such 
will be the state of affairs so long as this evil is a source of rev- 
enue to the Hawaiian government not less than to individuals. 

But we will leave these dreary scenes, and proceed on our 
way. 

* Report of Chief Justice, p. 112. 

f Report of Minister of Public Instruction, 1853, p. 65. 



CURIOUS METHOD TO OBTAIN M O N E Y. \*]\ 

A few days subsequent to my arrival at Koloa, a rather 
novel scene occurred between a Hawaiian sailor and two na- 
tives who lived on shore. While the whale ship " Helen Au- 
gusta" was taking in supplies for her cruise among the Arctic 
seas, the sailor was tempted to run away from the ship. The 
two landsmen, who induced him to abscond, had employed ev- 
ery illustration to portray the horrors of a seafaring life, and 
the bliss of living on shore. More than that, they assured 
him, in the cant phrase of the Hawaiian vice-procurer, that 
they had " a fine sister" on shore, in whose smiles he could 
find the very sum of all earthly happiness. The bait was 
adroitly held out, and grasped with avidity, and the " tar" 
was carefully stowed away. No sooner was he safely secured 
in his hiding-place, than away went his two tempters to the 
captain of the vessel, and told him that one of his crew had 
run away, and that, for ten dollars, they would recover him. 
Out went the specified sum, and away went the two natives 
to fulfill their errand. 

Silently and impatiently had the sailor waited for the ar- 
rival of the promised " sister." But what was his astonish- 
ment, instead of meeting the soft embrace of that fair daugh- 
ter of Eve, to hear the voice of his captain summoning him 
to his duty ! Further concealment was impossible ; and burn- 
ing with disappointment, and smarting under a desire for re- 
venge, the unlucky tar came forth from his lair, the ignoble 
dupe of two of his own countrymen. At length, becoming 
fully aware of their shameless perfidy, he developed the na- 
ture and aim of their plot, and they were compelled to refund 
their nice little earnings, much to their real mortification and 
disgust. 

That was a vivid picture of human cupidity that the im- 
mortal Shakspeare drew of the Venetian "Iago:" 

" Put money in thy purse ; follow these wars ; defeat thy favor 
with an usurped beard ; I say, put money in thy purse. It can not 
be that Desdemona should long continue her love to the Moor — put 
money in thy purse — nor he his to her ; it was a violent commence- 
ment, and thou shalt see an answerable sequestration, put but mon- 



172 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



ey in thy purse. These Moors are changeable in their wills ; fill thy 
purse with money." — Othello, Act I., sc. iii. 

This advice, however, was not confined merely to one Ve- 
netian citizen. It is Hawaiian. It is world-wide ! But the 
avidity with which the modern Kanaka grasps at the precious 
metal, sweeps away nearly every vestige of his primitive char- 
acter. 

One of the most interesting objects at Koloa is the sugar- 
plantation under the care of Dr. Wood. It is termed the Ko- 
loa Estate, and contains two thousand acres of excellent land. 
The Tahitian cane is the kind which is cultivated, and it 
thrives splendidly. The proprietor was realizing at least one 
ton per acre of capital sugar. His present machinery was im- 
perfect, and an immense per centage was lost by evaporation 
during the grinding of the cane. On the importation of new 
machinery, he would realize two tons, or four thousand pounds 
of sugar per acre. The same amount can be raised on any 
part of the group where cane can be successfully cultivated. 
Its growth is checked by no chilling frosts. 

The labor is performed by Coolies, imported from China, 
and by native men and women, at a daily remuneration of 
twenty-five cents — a sum amply sufficient to satisfy all their 
needs ! But Cooly labor is the most to be depended upon. 
If these men were permitted to marry the native women, they 
would become yet more trusty. 

Cane can be raised at twenty dollars per acre, including 
every item of expense. 

By a brief statistical comparison, it will be seen that in this 
item of industry, if properly encouraged, the Sandwich Island 
government would derive a vast advantage. Instead of the 
treasury realizing between $200,000 and $300,000 per an- 
num, as it now does, a vast increase might be the result. It 
has been accurately computed that 100,000 acres in the Sand- 
wich Islands, or 25,000 in each of the four principal islands, 
would, if well cultivated to cane, produce 3000 pounds a year 
per acre : this product alone, at 5 cents per pound, would be 
$15,000,000. 



SUGAR PLANTATIONS. I73 

A century ago the Jesuits brought a few bundles of sugar- 
cane from Hispaniola, and planted them in the Second Muni- 
cipality in New Orleans. In 1759 the first sugar-mill was 
erected. In 1850-51 the crop exceeded 200,000 hogsheads, 
worth ten millions of dollars. The capital now employed in 
this branch of industry exceeds $75,000,000. 

11 It has been generally supposed that the lands of the trop- 
ics would produce twice as much sugar per acre as those of 
the best sugar lands of the United States. But on this point 
it is shown that though, according to Humboldt, ' a hectare 
(about 2\ acres) of the best land in Mexico will produce no 
less than 5600 pounds of raw sugar,' and that this is double 
the amount produced from the same quantity of land in Cuba, 
yet Mr. James WafFord, of St. Mary's, Louisiana, made the 
past season, on forty acres of land in that parish, 190 hogs- 
heads of sugar, of 1000 pounds each, or 11,675 pounds per 
hectare — beating the best land of Cuba or Mexico more than 
two to one. Many planters in the vicinity of Franklin, Loui- 
siana, have just made upward of 3 hogsheads of sugar, of 
1000 pounds each, per acre, or 7500 to the hectare, exceed- 
ing Humboldt's highest figures by a thousand pounds per hec- 
tare. W. W. Wilkins, Esq., of the parish of St. James, made, 
the past season, 48 hogsheads of sugar on twelve acres of 
ground. Harpour, of Pointe Coupee, made on some of his 
land this season 10,000 pounds per hectare, nearly doubling 
Mexico."* 

A very little calculation will show that good cane-land on 
the Sandwich group will produce 10,000 pounds per hectare, 
and that labor can be performed at a much less cost than in 
Cuba or Louisiana. So that Louisiana has very little superi- 
ority to boast over the tropics. 

Aside from what is consumed in the home markets, Oregon 
and California have been the main outlets for the Sandwich 
Island sugar. But they have received it at a duty of 30 per 
cent., while American sugar has been admitted duty free. 
As may be readily supposed, this heavy duty is a serious ob- 
* De Bow's Review, March, 1853. 



174 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

stacle in the way of the planters on the group ; nor can it 
be removed until the group becomes annexed to the United 
States. 

The Koloa estate, however, is based on the ruined specula- 
tions of other men, as are several of the estates on different 
parts of the archipelago. In 1836, some capitalists from Oahu 
procured a large lease of land here for a term of fifty years, 
at an annual expense of three hundred dollars ; but, from the 
petty jealousies of chiefs, the difficulty of procuring reliable 
labor, and the absurd policy of the government, they experi- 
enced a total failure. If those islands should ever become an- 
nexed — and the step is inevitable ! — the old proprietors will 
not fail to realize that indemnity from our government which 
the Hawaiian, through preposterous counselors, failed to ex- 
tend. 

In this region, as in many other portions of the group, in- 
digo is making fearful ravages. Under the impression that it 
might become of much value as an article of trade, it was 
introduced by A. M. Serriere, of Batavia, in 1832. Since 
that period many persons have endeavored to cultivate it for 
the same purpose. But the mania has long since subsided, 
and the plant been left to take care of itself. Hundreds of 
acres are covered with its dense growth, and it continues to 
overrun some of the most valuable lands on the islands. So 
obnoxious has it become^ that I have many a time heard ag- 
riculturists wish that its introducer were compelled to uproot 
every plant by his teeth. There is no reason, however, why 
indigo, properly cultivated, should not become a very lucrative 
branch of exportation. 

On the northern portion of the lands now forming the Ko- 
loa estate, efforts were once made to cultivate silk. Close at- 
tention was paid to the culture of the native or black mul- 
berry (Morus nigra). Succeeding well in this effort, the pro- 
prietors imported several thousand of the Canton mulberry 
(Morus multicaulis), in which they were successful. Sub- 
sequently they procured large numbers of the Chinese silk- 
worm. At a still later date, a variety of worms and trees 



NATIVE PREACHER. 175 

were introduced from the United States. When eggs were 
produced, every means suggestive of success were tried to pre- 
serve them, but in vain. To a heavy drought may be added 
the ignorance of the proprietors hi managing their affairs, 
and the mistaken policy of government, as the chief causes of 
their failure ; and, after expending a snug fortune, they wise- 
ly retired to some other business. Silk, however, not less 
than indigo and sugar, could be cultivated with remarkable 
success. 

I spent one Sunday at the native church at Koloa. The 
building was well filled by a unique congregation. It was 
impossible to suppress a smile at the ludicrous scenes which 
were enacted in that congregation. Children were twisting 
and knotting each other's hair. A few lovers were cozily con- 
versing with their inamoratas, or stealing a private kiss. The 
older members of the audience, however, were as serious as 
monuments in a grave-yard ; and some of them had been old 
warriors at the consolidation of the government by Kameha- 
meha I. 

At length the native preacher, Kahookui, ascended the pul- 
pit. All was decent and orderly throughout the service. He 
took for his text, Luke, vi., 47, 48 : "Whosoever cometh to 
me," &cc. He was a very eloquent man. Every eye was 
fixed upon his own, which was lightened up with the fire of 
excitement. I regret I can not give an epitome of his dis- 
course ; but I offer a few miscellaneous specimens of native 
eloquence. 

Like all nations of men of primitive character, the Hawaii- 
ans have had their national orators who possessed eloquence 
peculiarly their own. Nature taught them, as she did the 
warlike chieftains of the Celtic tribes, and the mighty spirits 
that led the tribes of the Indian race to battle in past genera- 
tions. The eloquence of the Hawaiians owed its origin to no 
school other than what Nature had founded ; it subserved no 
rules other than the deepest sympathies acted upon, or the 
strongest passions awakened to deeds of love and vengeance. 
That eloquence which knows no law but the strongest im- 



176 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

pulses awakened by peculiar emergencies, is, therefore, difficult 
of definition, and can be better felt or read than described. 
The old Sandwich Island kings favorably regarded their na- 
tional orators, while they, in return, claimed the protection 
and favor of their sovereigns. Usually, however, those orators 
were the highest chiefs. They met in all the councils of war, 
and there their tremendous eloquence, more than logical dis- 
cussions, wielded an irresistible influence over the passions and 
sympathies of banded warriors. 

Like our most distinguished Indian chiefs, their style was 
the multv/m in parvo. Sometimes it was poetry of the high- 
est order : again, it impersonated the second or third party, by 
displaying the joys, sorrows, or dangers of one or the other. 
Not unfrequently did their orations begin with a sort of invo- 
cation to some celestial or terrestrial object, animate or inan- 
imate, after the style of many of the sacred Hebrew poets. 
Not a single superfluous word was ever uttered, and the word 
that would best express the thought was always employed. 
A remarkable, though peculiar instance is seen in some of the 
last words of Kamehameha the Great. The old king was con- 
fined to his rude couch by a mortal sickness, and was desirous 
of propitiating the favor of the gods. Under these impressions, 
he said to his son Liholiho, " Go thou and make supplication 
to thy God ; I am not able to go, and will offer my prayers at 
home !" 

But an instance of Hawaiian eloquence, at once pathetic 
and sublime, is seen in the parting language of the Queen of 
Liholiho, as they were just about to embark for England. 
It has been already cited in these pages, but will not be de- 
teriorated by a repetition. The youthful queen was nearly 
overwhelmed with emotion as she left the shores to tread 
them — as it afterward proved — no more forever; and she 
broke forth into wailing characteristic of the people : "0 
heavens, earth, mountains, ocean, guardians, subjects, love to 
you all ! land, for which my father bled, receive the as- 
surance of my earnest love !" 

I may be permitted to offer two specimens more. They are 



HAWAIIAN ELOQUENCE, I77 

the substance of two addresses delivered by two young Hawaii- 
an clergymen, in the King's Chapel in Honolulu, on the 12th 
of June, 1853, just before embarking on a missionary enter- 
prise to the Marquesas Islands. At a mere glance it will be 
seen that their scope is strictly religious, but that tone only 
imparts to them a higher finish. 

Farewell Address of Kekela. 

" I am happy to meet you on this occasion. We remember 
our old state ; darkness and sin covered us. We were poor, 
wicked, and degraded. This was the condition of our an- 
cestors, and from them I sprang. But all is now changed. 
Teachers have come among us. The Lord has been gracious 
to us, and we are blessed. In 1852, we sent out a mission to 
Micronesia, and now, in 1853, we have a Macedonian call 
from Fatuhiwa. To this call we cheerfully respond. It is as 
the voice of God. I can not resist it. The Marquesans are 
in darkness. They need our help. We do not go to seek our 
own things. Love to Christ and love to the benighted con- 
strain us. It is hard to leave parents, and kindred, and friends. 
We love them, and they love us. It is hard to leave my church 
and people. They cling to me, and my heart clings to them. 
But we will go. Our bodies will be separated, but our hearts 
will be united. You will go with us, and we will all go to- 
gether. And God will be with us and with you. He is 
there. He is here. He is every where. 

" Dear Christian friends, pray for us, and we will pray for 
you. Remember us. We will not forget you. We ask your 
love, your sympathy, and your intercession. Farewell ; the 
Lord bless you all." 

This is highly expressive. But, good as it is, it is far sur- 
passed by the following, as a translation of the 

Address of Kaiavealoha. 

" My Christian Friends, — You have all heard of Makou- 
nui, the Fatuhiwan chief. You know his errand to our isl- 

H 2 



178 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ands. He is in pursuit of teachers. His land is a land of 
night, of darkness — a land of sin and death. He comes to im- 
plore our aid ; he asks for teachers to go and instruct and en- 
lighten his people. 

" And we consent to the call. We rejoice to go. But we 
do not go to seek wealth, or honor, or glory, or pleasure. We 
go not to seek our own things ; we go to labor, to serve, to 
teach the truth ; to do good to the needy. 

" I am a particle of the dust of Kamehameha III. I am 
weak, and ignorant, and helpless in myself. In God is my 
trust. If He helps me, I will rejoice. If He helps you, we 
will all rejoice. 

"I go from love to Christ. I love the truth ; I love my 
missionary friends ; I love you all. You are my parents. 
You have taught me the good and the true. My love to you 
shall never fail. 

" This is my land, my home. I leave it for a land of mis- 
ery and want. You foreigners are strangers here, this is not 
your land ! But you will remain here and work for the Lord. 
You will pray for us ; you will work for us. Little children, 
serve the Lord. Live in love. We are all little children. 
Let us obey our Father in heaven. 

" We go to Fatuhiwa to dig treasure; not gold, not silver — 
these are poor. We go to dig for truth, for hidden pearls, for 
heavenly treasure. We go to remove the rubbish, the earthi- 
ness of sinners ; to seek souls ; to find immortal treasures for 
Christ. We go to dig, to toil, to work. 

"I go to pay a debt I owe for my education. I give my- 
self for the debt — it is all I can do. Will you cancel it ? 

" Farewell ! our hearts are united ; let us work together, 
pray together, and rejoice together." 

Most of the members of the Koloa Church are poor. If all 
their real property were put together — that of two or three 
persons excepted — it would not exceed two thousand dollars 
in value. Their regular contributions to religious and benev- 
olent institutions are enough to excite the surprise and even 



THE "GAP." 179 

incredulity of many a large and wealthy church in a civilized 
land.* As a church they are independent of the pecuniary 
aid of the A. B. C. F. M., and even send pecuniary assistance 
to other distant fields of missionary enterprise. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FROM KOLOA TO LIHUE. 

Uplands and Lowlands. — The " Gap." — A Legend. — Scenery. — Li- 
hue. — Sugar Plantations. — Labor. — Na-wili-wili Harbor and Riv- 
er. — Pleasure Party. — The "Stars and Stripes." — Significant De- 
portment of the Natives. — Remarkable Rock and Cave. — Valley 
of Cascades. — Moonlight. — Lunar Rainbows. 

The journey from Koloa to Lihue is among some of the 
most picturesque objects on the group. A gradual ascent is 
visible until the face of the country assumes a broad upland, 
slightly undulated. These uplands are grand in their phys- 
ical character ; borrowing, as they do, much of their noble as- 
pect from the contiguous mountains, whose Atlantean shoulders 
seem to pierce the skies, a traveler can not fail to be repaid 
for his visit. These elevated plains, containing many thou- 
sand acres of the richest soil, extend through a natural open- 
ing in the mountains, which is denominated the " Gap." This 
break in the chain is three miles wide, and forms a natural 
course for the northeast trades, which sometimes come sweep- 
ing down with great violence. 

At the northern extremity of the " Gap," the uplands term- 

* The following items I have copied from the Church Records 
for 1852 : 

Toward the support of the resident missionary. . . $250 00 

For the native preacher 80 00 

For the new church at Waimea 50 00 

For the Mission House at Liane 132 00 

For the Micronesian Mission 36 00 

For repairing the Mission House at Koloa 25 00 

Total $573 00- 



180 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

inate and the lowlands commence. The soil of these depress- 
ed plains is exceedingly fertile. In all probability, it is not 
surpassed by any farm in the Western States, or by the best 
ranchos in California. Yet, for all this, square miles of terri- 
tory, over which the plowshare has never passed, are lying 
waste, and afford nothing but pasture for cattle. 

The descent from the upper to the lower plains is down an 
abrupt slope nearly two hundred feet. It is associated with 
a bloody deed. Tradition relates that in the days of despotism, 
when chiefs controlled the services and even the lives of the 
common people, a chief commanded one of his retainers to 
carry him on his shoulders up this hill, with the threat, how- 
ever, that if he failed to carry him up without resting, he would 
run him through with his spear. The chief was a very large 
man, and the day was excessively warm. The retainer ex- 
erted every nerve, the perspiration streamed from every pore, 
and, at last, blood followed sweat. Before he reached the top 
of the ascent he fell exhausted. The tyrant was true to his 
word ; maddened by disappointment, he grasped his huge war- 
spear and dispatched his helpless victim. At this day, and 
especially in the darkness of night, it is regarded by the na- 
tives with a superstitious horror. 

On the right of the path leading over these lowlands, the 
scenery is magnificent. In the chain of mountains separating 
Koloa from Lihue, there is a lofty bluff which rears its giant 
forehead far above its surrounding brethren ; and from this 
circumstance, and the undoubted antiquity of its existence, it 
has received the highly expressive title of " Hoary Head." A 
little in advance of this savage summit there stands a small 
pillar of basaltic rock, which is called " Sentinel Peak." It 
looks as if it had been placed there by human hands ; but it 
is strictly one of Nature's freaks. During the days of idolatry, 
it was supposed to be the abode of the spirit of a departed 
king, and was worshiped with superstitious veneration. One 
of the most finished landscapes in nature may be found stretch- 
ing out from this very spot. 

The district of Lihue is delightful and invigorating. The 



SUGAR PLANTATION-LABOR, IQ\ 

soil is rich, capable of producing every tropical vegetable, as 
well as several specimens of foreign grain. The temperature 
is nearly the same as that of Koloa, being a little cooler and 
more bracing. Vegetation is perennial, for the frequent and 
genial showers enrich nature with the baptism of an eternal 
April. The foliage is fanned by the incessant breath of the 
warm trade- winds. 

The principal village is Na-wili-wili. In the district there 
is a male penitentiary. 

The sugar plantation, known as the Lihue Estate, can not 
fail to attract the notice of a traveler. It is the property of 
Messrs. Pierce and Company, of Boston. At the residence of 
J. F. B. Marshall, Esq., one of the very gentlemanly proprie- 
tors, which stands on the estate, I spent several days, and he 
very politely showed me over the entire premises. The en- 
tire estate covers three thousand acres, part of which was held 
on lease. There were two hundred acres of cane, in a high 
state of cultivation, besides a large crop which was being ex- 
pressed into sugar. The cane assumes a large growth. I 
measured one piece, and found it to be fourteen feet in length, 
and nine inches in girth round the lower joints. 

Hitherto this estate has been conducted at an enormous out- 
lay of money and labor. Several miles of road, leading to the 
different parts of the estate, had to be made. The machinery 
in the grinding -house is of a superior character, and was im- 
ported from the United States. Mr. Marshall stated that, when 
it was being conveyed on a raft from the ship to the shore, sev- 
eral portions of it fell overboard, but they were recovered by 
some natives who possessed great skill in diving. 

The cost of raising cane is about the same as at Koloa, and 
labor is secured from Coolies and Hawaiians at twenty-five 
cents per day. 

Within a half hour's ride of the Lihue Estate, and immedi- 
ately on the south, are the harbor and river of Na-wili-wili. 
The harbor is bounded by rocky heights on two sides. It is 
small, and has a fine sandy bottom, with water enough for 
vessels of a small tonnage. The anchorage is deemed safe 



182 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

except when the sea is driven in by the heavy northeast trades. 
At such times, getting out is difficult and dangerous, but an 
attempt to escape is the only alternative left to the mariner. 

Into this highly romantic little harbor the Na-wili-wili Riv- 
er empties. A bar of quicksand, just covered by the water at 
low tide, stretches across its mouth and precludes even schoon- 
er navigation. The river, so far as the purposes of commerce 
are concerned, is more beautiful than useful. But the majes- 
tic scenes which stud its banks can not fail to leave a lasting 
impression on the mind of a lover of Nature. In ascending it, 
the picturesque plains of the Lihue district rise on the right 
bank of the stream, a range of lofty mountains, stretching 
away to " Hoary Head" and " Sentinel Peak," form the limit 
on the left. 

In company with several pleasure-loving American ladies 
and gentlemen, I ascended this lovely stream in a commodious 
boat. The " stars and stripes" — magic emblems of freedom 
— floated in the breeze over our heads. I shall never forget 
my emotions as I looked up at that aegis which Washington 
had flung over our Republic after several years of struggles 
for national liberty. I could not help glancing at the mighty 
destinies of civilization. It led me back, through a historical 
vista, to Asia, the birth-place of empire and of man ; the cradle 
of the arts and sciences ; the theatre of great conflicts, reverses, 
and successes ; the stage upon which great nations had arisen, 
flourished, and crumbled back to the dust from whence they 
sprung. I could see Empire snatching its fallen sceptre from 
the ruins of prostrate nations, and alternately swaying it in 
Eastern, Western, and Central Europe. I was insensibly led 
back to the battle-fields of Pharsalia and Marathon, where gi- 
gantic intellects guided the sword that swept away thousands 
into oblivion ; where splendid destinies were nobly struggled 
for, and lost forever. I could trace those struggles and victo- 
ries, that alternating hope and despair, of the genius of Liberty, 
as it wept over its bleeding votaries, until, tired of the ghastly 
smile and putrid corpse of monarchical protection, it spread its 
wings, forsook old tyrants, and sped to the lap of the New 



DEPORTMENT OF NATIVES. ^§3 

World — the newly-discovered Continent of North America. 
It is on our own soil, and amid our own people, that that 
most sublime of all human problems has been satisfactorily 
solved — self-government, by a people having broken the last 
link of the chain which bound them to the proud chariot of a 
perfidious ruler ; by a people who enjoy the eternal, the God- 
given prerogatives of individual freedom, protection, and right. 
Over this great family of nations, Liberty had spread her pin- 
ions for their defense, and to raise them to the sublime posi- 
tion of a vast social, moral, intellectual, political, and religious 
fraternity. That unity had flung its glory from the eastern to 
the western shores of a great continent, forming a young em- 
pire in the long obscure territory of California. And here, on 
a Sandwich Island river, were a few American citizens glid- 
ing along beneath the ever-glorious beacon of true empire — 
the " stars and stripes !" 

We had proceeded about two miles up the river, when we 
noticed a group of natives collected on the right bank. Doubt- 
less our appearance was novel enough to them, for they stood 
looking at us with mingled pleasure and amazement. But a 
short time elapsed, however, before their monotony was dis- 
pelled. We gave a triple " three cheers" to our flag and the 
occasion, which seemed to have a magical effect on the na- 
tives ; for they unwittingly and earnestly gave us a sort of 
semi-civilized response. Some of them laughed heartily at 
their own performances, and others probably at our own. 
There were two natives, a man and woman, who appeared 
extremely desirous of manifesting their profound enthusiasm 
in what seemed so deeply to interest our company. They dis- 
tinguished themselves by taking off the only garments they 
wore, which they raised aloft on a long stick, and then gave 
us a passing recognition. 

At a short distance beyond this group, we landed at the foot 
of a spur that led up to an enormous mass of trap rock, called 
by the natives Keapaweo Mountain. It has a curious cathe- 
dral-like front, of perpendicular formation, and as smooth as 
if it had been chiseled out by art. Its front was pierced by a 



184 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

cave, an examination of which was a sufficient spur to our 
ambition. Three of us started to make the ascent. We were 
followed by two other gentlemen, who soon concluded to aban- 
don the enterprise. The spur was very difficult to climb. 
We had not climbed more than a fourth of the ascent, when 
we were glad to divest ourselves of coats, vests, hats, and cra- 
vats. Here we stayed to rest for a few minutes, and then re- 
sumed our task. At length the ascent became a complete 
toil ; it was an alternate climbing and slipping. Our path 
was directly up the steep front of abrupt precipices, from which 
projected a stunted and sinewy foliage. To look up was 
dreadful ; to glance downward was equally bad. To return 
was absolutely impossible, and yet the risk of a headlong 
plunge induced us to proceed. Exhausted by toil, and nearly 
melted from the effects of heat, we at last reached the cave. 

From this point we turned to look back. The scene was 
one of overwhelming magnificence. In the distance, the boat, 
its contents, and the flag, had almost dwindled away to a 
mere speck. We were elevated at least fourteen hundred feet 
above the river, and were seen by our party in the boat only 
by being exposed in our shirt sleeves. 

The cave was a perfect niche, one hundred feet high, forty 
wide, and retreated about sixty feet from the entrance. Its 
entire interior had a steppy formation. The floor was cover- 
ed with a rich volcanic soil. We were probably the first 
white men that had ever set foot in this lofty cavity, but not 
the first human beings who had ever been there. It was once 
the abode of a sorcerer, whose nightly descents to the banks 
of the beautiful stream were always accompanied with pres- 
ents from the superstitious persons that followed in his rear. 
He was called the " Man of the Rock/' and many were the 
deeds of darkness and death which his evil genius prompted. 

Before leaving this home of the old sorcerer, we gave three 
cheers, as indicative of our success, which were responded to 
by our party on the river ; and the sounds of their response 
came echoing up the mighty cliffs like the notes of distant 
music. The descent was more rapid, but not less difficult 



MOONLIGHT. \gj 



than the ascent. Clutching at the stunted foliage, to aid us 
as we glided down, mostly in a sitting posture, we soon found 
ourselves once more by the side of the river. 

At the head of navigation — only four miles from the mouth 
of the stream — we landed, and sat down beneath the cool fo- 
liage in a romantic dell. After a brief rest on the part of the 
ladies, we pursued our way up the dell. On turning an ab- 
rupt projection, nearly at its source, a magnificent view opened 
before us. Several cascades were leaping, one after the other, 
into a deep basaltic basin, placed there by the hand of Nature 
for their reception. The rugged walls that inclosepl the stream 
were also of a basaltic character. Such a spot as this would 
be the home for a poet, an artist, or a man of a snug inde- 
pendency. Pouring out a libation in front of the lowest fall 
of water, we gave the place the title of " Valley of Cascades," 
and took our leave. 

In no part of the world is the moonlight more splendid 
than at the Sandwich Islands. Before our party had returned 
to the residence of Mr. Marshall, at Lihue, the moon had 
reached an altitude of several degrees. The orb of night was 
at the full. The god of day had gone to his evening rest. 
The hour was as calm as a deserted . city. It was such an 
hour as has many a time recorded vows, plighted in the gush- 
ings forth of a love which could not be changed by time, cir- 
cumstance, sorrow, or death ; an hour when the full soul un- 
bosoms itself for the purpose of holding self-converse — when 
a silvery light sheds a pale and hallowed beauty over the face 
of slumbering Nature, filling each glen with fantastic imagery, 
and covering the placid streams with the memorials of the 
loving and the loved. 

As we rode along under such moonlight as this, I could 
not forbear a mental recitation of the lan^ua^e of Ossian : 
" Daughter of Heaven, fair art thou ! the silence of thy face is 
pleasant ! Thou comest forth in loveliness. The stars at- 
tend thy blue course in the east. The clouds rejoice in thy 
presence, moon ! They brighten their dark brown sides. 
Who is like thee in heaven, light of the silent night ? The 



188 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

stars are ashamed in thy presence. They turn away their 
sparkling eyes. Whither dost thou retire from thy course 
when the darkness of thy countenance grows ? Hast thou 
thy hall, like Ossian ? Dwellest thou in the shadow of grief? 
Have thy sisters fallen from heaven ? Are they who rejoice 
with thee at night no more ?" 

If Italy can boast her sunny skies just before the approach 
of the evening twilight, when the eye rests on a thousand tints 
of splendor, the Sandwich Islands can boast a flood of moon- 
light at once glorious and matchless. In looking up into the 
clear face of the queen of night, a Christian philosopher seems 
to hold converse with many who have long since left the 
earth, and now people the mansions of immortality, and his 
own spirit would fain speed away thither to their sinless em- 
brace. 

Shortly after reaching Lihue, I tried an experiment in read- 
ing by the light of the moon. I found it perfectly easy, and 
read several pages of Milton's " Paradise Lost." 

Before the hour of rest that night, I witnessed the rare phe- 
nomenon of a lunar rainbow. A shower of rain fell on the 
ocean immediately in front of the estate, and the beautiful 
iris, caused by it, stretched from one side of the horizon to the 
other. These lunar rainbows may be attributed mainly to 
two causes, the great brilliancy of the moon in this region, 
and the highly rarefied state of the atmosphere. 



WAILUA VILLAGE. ^39 



CHAPTER XIV. 

FROM LIHUE TO HAJttALEI. 

Wailua Village. — Wailua River. — Objects of Superstition. — Strange 
Legends. — Falls of Wailua. — Estate of Kumalu. — Reminiscences 
of a Family. — The Dairy Business. — "What sort of Talent is needed. 
— Policy of Government. — Road to Hanalei. — Settlement of Cali- 
fornians. — Traveling on the Sandwich Islands. 

The first village of any importance after leaving Lihue is 
Wailua (two waters). I was informed it was the property 
of Kapule — better known by her baptismal name Deborah 
— an ex-queen, and formerly the consort of Kaumualh, the 
last king of this island, who died at Honolulu in 1824. 

Wailua is a small and scattered village, located on either 
side of the river bearing the same title. The only interest it 
now retains is its having once been the abode of royalty. 
Every thing was going rapidly to decay. The canoes that 
were once occupied by her majesty and her friends I found 
rotting in a shed that stood near the banks of the stream. 
The only interest the natives seem to cherish is the cultiva- 
tion of their taro plantations, and in taking care of their nu- 
merous fish-ponds. It was difficult to conceive that the vil- 
lage had ever been honored with a " royal presence." 

Having ranged among the decaying dwellings, entered the 
old building used by the villagers as a house of divine wor- 
ship, and exchanged a few solitary words of compliment with 
the girls and women — for the uncomplimentary men returned 
nothing but significant grunts and sundry gesticulations — I 
began to make preparations to ascend the river. It was with 
a keen sense of disappointment that I learned that the old 
queen Kapule, the steady friend, through many long years, of 
every visitor who had been there before me, had removed to 
the other side of the island. I had promised myself a sail up 



190 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

the beautiful stream in one of her large canoes, that had been 
formed out of a solid log by a canoe-maker of a past genera- 
tion. But as this gratification was impossible to procure, I 
submitted to the loss of it with becoming resignation. 

A large canoe, however, was procured, with a sufficient 
number of men to paddle it, and a youth of eighteen, who 
spoke good English and Hawaiian. We had our little vessel 
launched just above the heavy sand-bar at the mouth of the 
stream, and quietly proceeded on our way. The mouth of the 
river is easily forded at low tide, but a few yards above this 
bar there is water enough to float a first class line-of-battle 
ship. The scenery up this river is second to none in the trop- 
ics. It wends its way through scores of taro plantations, or- 
ange and cocoa-nut trees, plantains and bananas. Its banks 
are densely clothed with the screw-pine (Tectorius et odor a- 
tissimus), and the native mamaki ( Urtica argentea) and hau 
{Hibiscus tiliaceus), the latter of which extend their pictur- 
esque branches until they droop and kiss the bosom of the gen- 
tle waters. Now they wind through a fertile tract of alluvial 
deposit, and now they sweep round the base of some lofty 
cliff, hoary with age, and placed there, apparently, to watch 
over the surrounding quiet. Again, and on either hand, the 
unruffled bosom of the river, with the clearness of a vast mir- 
ror, reflects every object that crowds its banks with wild and 
romantic beauty. At every few yards the scenes change, and 
the eye becomes delighted with the charm of a continuous 
panorama. 

The Wailua River stands associated with the very genius 
of romance and superstition. Every object on the banks, ev- 
ery rock in the stream, and every cliff by which it is over- 
looked, has attached to it some legend of lovers, warriors, 
priests, and kings. About three miles above the village, and 
within a few rods of the left bank, there stands a singularly- 
shaped rock. Its form is a well-defined sugar-loaf, sixty feet 
high, and twenty across the base. The natives have invested 
it with every attribute which can constitute a ghostly charac- 
ter, and it is known to them by the name of Kamalau. 



STRANGE LEGENDS. 191 

The origin of this ghost's existence — accepting the native 
legend as authority — is simply this : 

At a very early period, the site occupied by this gray rock 
was, as it is now, a fine banana grove, sacred only to the gods. 
On numerous occasions, some daring natives, impelled by thiev- 
ish propensities, appropriated the productions of this grove to 
their own use. At length the gods became highly incensed 
at the frequency and extent of these outrages, and a supreme 
council was held to devise measures to arrest and punish the 
aggressors. Kamalau, who was the presidmg deity of this 
awful synod, was unanimously appointed supreme -guardian of 
the sacred grove. He descended from a lofty cliff — the site 
of the council — on the other side of the stream, and, alighting 
on the spot he now occupies, transformed himself into the rock 
described above. 

Kamalau had a favorite sister whose name was Kulai. Her 
bosom was filled with sorrow when she saw her brother forsake 
the home he had occupied so many ages. Not being able to 
sustain this wholesale desertion, she took a leap similar to that 
just taken by her brother. Whether it was owing to a want 
of greater elasticity, or to some other legitimate impediment, 
tradition does not specify ; but the lovely and forsaken goddess 
fell into the river, and immediately became petrified for her 
presumption in daring to follow her brother. At this day, the 
superstitious natives take a peculiar pleasure in pointing the 
traveler's attention to this rock, submerged about two feet be- 
low the surface of the stream. 

Tradition says that Kamalau succeeded in his guardianship 
of the sacred fruit. No more thieves ever again attempted to 
disturb its repose. The rock Kamalau stands to-day, and the 
banana grove, forming a dense mass of vegetation, that has 
continued to spring up from decayed matter during unnum- 
bered generations, yet flourishes around it. No compensation, 
however valuable, can induce a native to visit this spot during 
daylight, much less in the darkness of night, 

A short distance above the " Ghost' 5 is another rock, whose 
sharp summit just peers up above the placid bosom of the 



192 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

the stream. It is termed the " Canoe-breaking Rock," from 
the legend that, in early days, when this valley was densely 
peopled by savage warriors, the canoes of their enemies who 
came hither were dashed to pieces, and their rowers put to 
death. 

Yet higher up the river, another object was pointed out to 
me as having been the residence of a powerful war-chief. His 
retreat was gained by a subterranean passage, access to which 
could be obtained only by diving some distance below the sur- 
face of the water. To gratify his propensities for cannibalism, 
he occasionally sallied forth, and seized the first luckless'-mor- 
tal who might chance to be passing. Numbers of persons had 
thus fallen victims to his cruelty before the impregnability of 
his den was violated. When he was put to death and an en- 
trance was effected into his abode, it was found to be nearly 
filled with human bones, many of which had been converted 
into savage ornaments. 

Volumes might easily be filled with the wild legends which, 
even at this day, these unlettered Hawaiians are fond of re- 
lating to every traveler ; but enough has been said on these 
topics. 

Our canoe stopped at the foot of a hill two hundred feet 
high. It formed one of the sides of an ancient crater, the 
bottom of which was composed of a rich soil covering about 
fifty acres. Through this wild and deep amphitheatre the 
picturesque stream was gliding musically over its rocky bed. 
And in this spot, covered as it was with taro and various 
kinds of foliage, there were hundreds of wild ducks, which 
could be easily approached within shooting distance. 

Climbing the steep banks, and crossing over an elevated 
plain about half a mile, accompanied by my guide, I at last 
reached the object of my search. For some distance before 
arriving at the falls, # I saw clouds of vapor ascending toward 
the sky, and heard the solemn tones of their undying music. 
On reaching the brink of the abyss, the sublime scene bursts 
at once on the vision of the astonished and delighted visitor, 
and for a time chains him to the spot. As my eye endeavor- 



WAILUA FALLS. 



193 




FALLS OF WAILUA. 



ed to follow the huge sheet of water as it went hissing and 
foaming into the " hell of waters" below, my limbs trembled 
under me, and I instinctively clutched the limb of a solitary 
tree under which I stood. 

After contemplating the scene before me in solemn silence 
for some minutes, I resolved on reaching the foot of the falls, 

I 



194 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

where I should obtain a better view. Descending the rocky- 
banks about a quarter of a mile below the cataract, and care- 
fully climbing over slippery masses of basalt which had tum- 
bled down from the heights above, I at length found myself 
enveloped in the warm spray of the foaming torrent. At this 
spot the scene assumed a terrific sublimity. On the night 
previous to my visit a heavy rain had rapidly raised the wa- 
ters of the river, and at this moment the view was unusually 
grand and imposing. The brow of the cataract was sixty 
feet wide, the depth of water six feet, and its entire length of 
fall one hundred and eighty feet to the pool by which I stood. 
The basaltic rocks bounding this huge abyss rather overhung 
the vast masses of rock piled rudely below. The front of the 
right wall of the torrent was as smooth as if it had been sub- 
mitted to the action of a sculptor's chisel. It was with a 
trembling glance that I raised my eyes upward, while the 
huge walls looked as if about to totter down upon my head. 
At this moment a strong ray of sunlight shot down into the 
abyss, and the foaming spray and the ascending vapors re- 
vealed an iris of enchanting loveliness. Beautiful, strangely 
beautiful was its contrast from the black and lofty rocks, in 
the interstices of which delicate ferns were growing, and over 
whose rugged brow flourished the ku-kui, or candle-nut (Al- 
eurites triloba), and the feathery koa (Acacia falcata). 
Round the edges of the deep basin that received the cataract 
rushes were growing ten to twelve feet in length, four or five 
feet under the water, and two inches in girth round the lower 
extremities ; and lower down the ravine, close to the edge of 
the river, I noticed scores of the castor-oil plant growing wild. 
Page after page might be devoted to a description of this 
scene, but nothing can afford a more graphic delineation of it 
than Byron's eloquent description of the " Falls of Terni :" 

" The roar of waters ! from the headlong height 
Velino cleaves the wave-worn precipice ; 
The fall of waters ! rapid as the light, 
The flashing mass foams shaking the abyss ; 
The hell of waters ! where they howl and hiss, 



THE KUMALU ESTATE. 195 

And boil in endless torture ; while the sweat 
Of their great agony, wrung out from this 
Their Phlegethon, curls round the rocks of jet, 
That gird the gulf around, in pitiless horror set, 

And mounts in spray the skies, and thence again 
Returns in an unceasing shower, which round, 
With its unemptied cloud of gentle rain, 
Is an eternal April to the ground, 
Making it all one emerald — how profound 
The gulf! and how the giant element 
From rock to rock leaps with delirious bound, 
Crushing the cliffs which, downward worn and rent 
With his fierce footsteps, yield in chasms a fearful vent. 
****** 

Horribly beautiful ! but on the verge, 
From side to side, beneath the glittering moon, 
An iris sits amid the infernal surge, 
Like Hope upon a death-bed, and, unworn, 
Its steady dyes, while all around is torn 
By the distracted waters, bears serene 
Its brilliant hues, with all their beams unshorn : 
Resembling, 'mid the torture of the scene, 
Love watching Madness with unalterable mien." 

The estate called Kumalu, one side of which is bounded by 
the Falls of Wailua, is, in point of beauty, surpassed by none 
on the group. It is located immediately between the junction 
of the Kukemakau and Koheo Rivers. The commodious 
dwelling-house stood on the very brink of the crateriform val- 
ley I have already referred to, and behind it was a garden cov- 
ering two or three acres, beautifully interspersed with a large 
variety of flowers of every hue and odor ; and on the gentle 
slopes that stretched away to the right of the mansion, hand- 
some acacia groves were flourishing, with all the magnificent 
tinge which the climate of the tropics imparts to foliage. 

But the principal charm of the estate, and especially of the 
mansion itself, was gone. The family that once occupied it 
had departed for a distant land, had left with it an eternal 
adieu. There was that about the spot which spoke of that 
family, and seemed to whisper that they had but just gone 011 
a neighboring visit. And yet there were gentle memorials 



J96 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

that told the stern truth — that from this enchanting abode — 
this elysium in miniature — that lovely family had gone forev- 
er. I never knew them. But I could not repel the risings of 
that common sympathy which hinds the heart of a man to his 
race. The spacious apartments which once echoed the inno- 
cent mirth of joyous children, or the instrumental music at- 
tuned by their accomplished mother, were now comparatively 
silent and nearly a stern solitude. I passed over the embow- 
ered walks, and among the flowers around that dwelling, and 
thought of the gentle communings of those whose feet had 
pressed that soil, and whose hands had reared those flowers. 
But those feet and hands were at that moment being borne 
away upon the bosom of the treacherous deep. The sun shone 
with as much beauty, the birds sang just as sweetly, and the 
river in the romantic valley below murmured along just as 
musically as formerly they did. And yet there was something 
about that forsaken home that left impressions on my spirit 
that I can not and wish not to erase. 

But to return to the estate. The then owner of it was Lieu- 
tenant Turner, an English gentleman. He had purchased it 
entire for the small sum of $4050 — an immense sacrifice to 
its former proprietor, Mr. Brown, also an Englishman. The 
estate contained one thousand acres. It had formerly been 
conducted for the support of the dairy business, and Mr. Tur- 
ner designed following the business of his predecessor. I have 
already referred to this branch of business on the Sandwich 
group ; and it is unnecessary again to state that it may be 
rendered a highly lucrative branch of native industry. 

But Mr. Brown's experiment was a failure, and worse than 
a failure. He had been reared in England, and had acquired 
the staid habits of an " old-fashioned English gentleman." He 
expected that every thing would proceed in the same way, and 
that manual labor was just as reliable as in England. This 
was his grand mistake — this was why he failed. Had he be- 
come a little more of the Sandwich Islander, as a Yankee us- 
ually does, he would have stood a much better chance of suc- 
cess. The kind of talent adapted to the tropics is a personal 



POLICY OF GOVERNMENT 19? 

adaptation to existing circumstances, a close study of the oper- 
ations of Nature. Sun, atmosphere, soil, crops, markets, ev- 
ery thing is different there to what it is in other places. Nei- 
ther an Englishman as an Englishman, nor a Yankee as a 
Yankee, can well succeed on that group, so long as he retains 
his "isms," or his peculiar ideas on agriculture. An agricul- 
turist must depend much on self, and not too much on others, 
if he would succeed well there. He must be willing to lay 
aside many of his preconceived opinions, and lay hold of things 
as he finds them. 

But one cause of so many failures on the group 'has been in 
the restricted policy of the Hawaiian government. That pol- 
icy has been sustained for the benefit of a few leading men 
that have surrounded the king, more than for the national 
good, and the genius of the policy itself has been a too arbi- 
trary unity of Church and State. But a beneficial change 
has already dawned, and the first steps toward improvement 
were seen in the very prompt manner in which the recent 
Minister of Finance was dismissed from his official position. 

From Kumalu to Hanalei the traveler experiences much to 
interest and much to annoy him. Passing now through a 
small village, then fording a stream, or swimming his horse 
over a river, and yonder picking his path down and up the 
rugged sides of a deep ravine, there is little, if any, of monoto- 
ny. At intervals the path leads through dense groves of the 
pandamus ( Tectorius et odoratissimus) and the ku-kui (Al- 
eurites triloba). Some of these latter groves would have hon- 
ored the old Druidical priests. 

Within two hours' ride of Hanalei I passed through a set- 
tlement established by several enterprising men from Califor- 
nia. They had leased a large tract of land in the district of 
Koolau, for the purpose of sustaining agricultural interests. 
Possessing the essentially needful article of Yankee enterprise, 
should no obstacles be placed in their way by those in author- 
ity, they can not fail of success. A wider and more rapid in- 
tercourse with the California markets would do much to aid 
the progress of agriculture on the group. And this speedy in- 



X98 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



tercourse can be achieved only through steam navigation — an 
advantage that will not be realized under the present state of 
the Hawaiian government. 

Traveling on the Sandwich Islands is far from being easy, 
and, in all probability, a journey over Kauai is the most diffi- 
cult and laborious of any which can be performed over the 
group. There are no railroad cars and no stage-coaches, into 
which a traveler can place himself, leaving all his responsi- 
bilities to the " iron horse" or the living driver. Many a weary 
hour, and over many a long mile, he plods along on the back 
of his solitary steed. There are ravines to cross, streams to 
ford, and rivers to swim. 

Away from the dwellings of civilized men, his wants may 
be many, but his needs must necessarily be few, otherwise 
they will be slimly supplied. In many cases the traveler must 
fast for hours, or turn Hawaiian pro tern., and gulp down fish 
andj9oi. If a chicken is broiled for him, it is done in the hope 
of a heavy remuneration, and the very first preliminary on the 
part of the native is usually a thorough understanding as to 
how much the traveler is going to pay for his miserable accom- 
modations. The insatiable eagerness displayed by the Hawaii- 
ans for money, has been imbibed from avaricious foreign resi- 
dents. So powerful is this talisman, that, in many instances, 
the Kanakas will freely sacrifice their wives, sisters, moth- 
ers, and even their own daughters, for gold ! I saw some in- 
stances of this kind before reaching Hanalei, and I have seen 
them many a time since. A close observer in passing over 
the group can not fail to see things which he may not relate, 
and which no person, not having witnessed them, would be 
willing to believe. It is well, therefore, for the traveler to 
seek a reputation rather for veracity than the marvelous. 

" But, after all we have said, it is our duty to add the uni- 
versal remark, that in no part of the world is life and property 
more safe than in these islands. Murders, robberies, and the 
higher class of felonies are quite unknown here, and in city 
and country we retire to our sleep conscious of the most entire 
security. The stranger may travel from one end of the group 



VALLEY OF HAN ALE I. QQl 

to the other, over mountains and through woods, sleeping in 
grass huts, unarmed, alone, and unprotected, with any amount 
of treasure on his person, and with a tithe of the vigilance re- 
quired in older and more civilized countries, go unrobbed of a 
penny and unharmed in a hair."* 



CHAPTER XV. 

Valley of Hanalei. — River. — Harbor. — Coffee Plantations. — Early 
Efforts to cultivate Silk. — Causes of the Failure. —The Spiritual 
versus the Secular. — Capacity of the Soil. — Extraordinary vege- 
table Remains. — Evidences of a remote Antiquity. — Excursions. — 
Storm-stayed. — Fondness of native Women for Dogs. — Delicate 
Appetite. — Mission Station. — Manual-labor School. 

After crossing seventeen streams — several of which were 
respectable rivers — I came to the brink of the table-lands by 
which the Valley of Hanalei is bounded. It is one of the 
Edens of the Hawaiian group. As the traveler reaches the 
northeast boundary, the view before him is that of a splendid 
panorama, perfect in all its parts. The summits of the neigh- 
boring mountains at the back of the valley look as though 
within rifle distance, but, in reality, they are six miles away ; 
and of them it may be truly said, 

" 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view." 

At the time of my visit it was the rainy season. More than 
a score of cascades were leaping down the perpendicular steeps 
of those mountains, whose rugged summits, clad with a dense 
foliage, pierced the clouds at a height of four thousand feet. 
The valley itself was covered with plantations and pasture- 
lands, dotted with groves of tropical trees. In the distance 
stood the Mission Church and the other buildings comprising 
the station. Here and there the grass huts of the natives 
were sprinkled over the open tracts, or half concealed among 
the foliage. Beyond all, and forming the mouth of the valley, 
was the peaceful little harbor, revealing its fair sandy beach, 

* Annual Report of Chief Justice, p. 108. 
12 



202 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

with the white foam of the surf defining its limits. The final 
touch to the picture was the beautiful river that meandered 
through the valley* kissing the wild flowers that clustered on 
its banks, or bearing a solitary canoe on its bosom, now losing 
itself among the dense foliage, and now bursting on the vision 
like a rich vein of silver stealing its way through the perpet- 
ual verdure. 

To the planters in the valley this river is of incalculable 
value. By ordinary-sized sail-boats it is navigable for three 
miles above its mouth, and is from one to two hundred feet 
wide. By means of boats they can send their produce down 
to any vessel that may be anchored in the harbor awaiting its 
reception. 

The harbor is more beautiful than useful. In calm weath- 
er large vessels may anchor in it, but the sandy bottom is 
loose and changeful. Should a heavy northwest wind over- 
take a vessel at anchor there, beating out — the small native 
schooners excepted — is next to impossible. It was on the 
beach of this bay that the pride of Salem, " Cleopatra's 
Barge," was totally wrecked. Several other vessels have 
there shared the same fate. There is not a harbor on this 
island fit for a vessel to ride in with safety. That of Wai- 
mea, on the south side, is the best. 

The chief agricultural interest in the Hanalei Yalley I found 
to be the cultivation of coffee. There were two plantations 
in good condition. There was also the ruins of a third, which 
had been placed under an attachment for debt. But the most 
flourishing estate in the valley was owned by Mr. Titcomb, a 
thoroughly enterprising Yankee. 

The coffee is of the Bourbon species, closely allied to that 
species called Mocha, now extensively cultivated in the king- 
dom of Yemen, Arabia Felix. It has a most delicious flavor, 
the virtues of which I many times tested during my stay. 
The article can be raised for three and a half to four cents 
per pound. The cost of labor per man, per day, is, for Coo- 
lies, eighteen cents, and for natives twenty-five cents. Yet the 
Coolies will do the most work, and give the most satisfaction. 



EARLY EFFORTS TO CULTIVATE S I L K. 203 

But tile Hawaiians feel their superiority over these Celestials, 
and their services can be obtained only by a superior remuner- 
ation. The business is a highly-lucrative one, but it requires 
care and close attention. It is of no use for a man to fall on 
his knees and implore Jove to assist him, unless he stoutly 
puts his " own shoulder to the wheel. " Mr. Titcomb, as he 
richly deserves, is rapidly realizing a snug independency. 

A few years ago, this same enterprising gentleman made 
experiments in raising silk. ' Being a total novice in the busi- 
ness, he procured what he subsequently knew purely from the 
study of books that treated on the subject. After acquiring a 
knowledge of it himself, he began to impart practical lessons 
to some of the natives living in the valley. Mulberry-trees 
were cultivated ; silk- worms were procured, and an immense 
cocoonery was erected. Through his untiring perseverance he 
soon raised several crops of good silk, samples of which were 
forwarded to Mazatlan and the city of Mexico, for which he 
received a very high price. The mulberry leaves which an 
acre of soil would produce were sufficient food for worms that 
would raise fifty pounds of raw silk. The article could be 
raised at an average cost of $1 50 to $2 00 per pound. Num- 
bers of the natives, of both sexes, were profitably employed, 
and many of them became much attached to the business. 
Of Mr. Titcomb's success, the gentlemen of the United States 
Exploring Expedition make ample mention : " Mr. Titcomb 
has a large plantation of both kinds [sugar-cane and mulber- 
ry], and an extensive cocoonery in operation. He has suc- 
ceeded in making silk of excellent quality, both for the loom 
and sewing. He gives his personal attention to this business, 
and began in a small way. I understand that he has suc- 
ceeded in it. His greatest difficulty is the unsteady labor of 
the natives." 3 * 

But, after such an interesting success, he failed ! An in- 
quiry into the failure is both natural and instructive. It hap- 
pened that, as on all other silk plantations, the worms had to 

* " United States Exploring Expedition." Lea and Blanchard. 
Philadelphia, 1845 ; vol. iv., p. 70. 



204 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

be fed on Sundays (!). This did not exactly suit tHe rigid 
notions of the ecclesiastics that controlled the spiritual inter- 
ests of the natives. The planter was in the habit of issuing 
paper notes, redeemable, at certain periods, in cash or goods, 
as the laborers might choose. The first step, therefore, was 
to create a distrust among them relative to the value of this 
kind of payment. To a great extent it succeeded. One by 
one the laborers left him, until nearly two thirds of them had 
disappeared from the premises. Every obstacle was thrown 
in the planter's way. The winding-up of the drama was 
positively to interdict natives employing a few minutes on the 
Sabbath to feed silk- worms ; and this was done on a penalty 
of excommunication, and the pains of an endless shower of 
hell fire beyond the grave. 

This was an extraordinary instance of the exercise of spir- 
itual power versus secular interests. It was exercised by men 
totally disqualified in legislation and in the interests of com- 
merce — by men who would have their own food prepared for 
them on Sundays, and permit their horses and cattle to range 
over their pastures — by men whose silk cravats were raised 
by worms fed on Sundays in other parts of the world. Could 
it be wrong to feed a silk- worm on a Sunday, when the God 
of creation feeds the sparrow on the same day ? The result 
of this fanaticism was a failure on the part of Mr. Titcomb. 
His laborers were all drawn away from him. His silk- worms 
were all thrown into the river — for they died ! And all this 
was done when he was within a few hours of realizing a crop 
of silk worth thousands of dollars ! 

This is another instance of that blind zeal which has long 
held back the most important commercial interests on the Sand- 
wich group. It was the zeal of Protestantism ! But, like the 
perfidious priests of Popery , who, in many a part of the earth, 
have consumed the martyr to ashes at the stake, simply be- 
cause he dared to be free, it was equally censurable. When 
God stands not in a man's way, his fellow-men ought not to 
do it. Whatever tends to interdict domestic commerce, 
whether it be by governments as bodies politic, or by men as 



THE SPIRITUAL v s. THE SECULAR. 205 



individuals, can not fail to be a source of national and domes- 
tic evil. It is impossible to portray how many evils have 
arisen, and how much real good the Hawaiian nation has lost, 
by the overwhelrning predominancy of ecclesiastical legislation. 
The failure of the silk culture was a disaster to many private 
individuals, and it certainly eventuated in a serious loss to the 
government as an item of commerce ; for an interdicted gain 
through an honest medium is an absolute loss secured through 
the channel of the interdiction itself. 

For ages past, the single article of silk has been a source of 
great commercial advantage to civilized nations. In the early 
translation of the Bible, by Jerome, it is mentioned as being 
among the articles imported by the Phoenicians from Syria. 
For a long time it was brought by traders from China, in car- 
avans traversing the deserts and sands of Asia to the ports of 
Syria and Egypt. The sails of the pleasure-barge of the vo- 
luptuous Cleopatra were composed of silk. For centuries 
the Persians monopolized the silk trade. When Alexander 
the Great had conquered that nation, it was introduced into 
Greece, and subsequently into Rome. The Roman people at 
last induced the Emperor Marcus Antoninus to send embas- 
sadors to Persia, to negotiate with them a commercial treaty 
concerning this commodity. 

About A.D. 1130, Roger II., of Sicily, set up a silk estab- 
lishment at Palermo, and another in Calabria. From these 
two countries the silk trade rapidly spread over Italy. At an 
early day in the history of Spain it was introduced into that 
nation by the Moors. In 1521 it was introduced into France. 
In 1663 the State of Virginia witnessed efforts to awaken an 
interest in the cultivation of silk. Silk raised in Georgia, 
Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, in 1760, received liberal pre- 
miums from the Society in London for the Encouragement of 
Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. Ever since its introduc- 
tion into the United States, it has been looked upon as a val- 
uable department in domestic commerce, and a source of great 
pecuniary benefit to the country. From 1821 to 1841 in- 
clusive, the United States exported silk to the amount of 



206 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

$26,827,285, and these exports were purely the produce of 
the country. 

Looking at the formidable bulk of the above sum, as real- 
ized by American industry supported by American laws, it 
will be seen that the Hawaiian treasury has lost a great deal 
through the tyranny of Church over State. 

But if Mr. Titcomb was defeated in his silk project, he was 
not entirely crushed. It is impossible to crush a genuine Yan- 
kee. He borrowed a sum of money, and commenced plant- 
ing coffee. In two years he had paid all his debts, and found 
himself with money in pocket. At this day he owns a noble 
estate, containing a hundred thousand coffee-trees, besides oth- 
er things, and he looks forward to a prosperous and happy 
old age. 

But coffee is not the only article that can be cultivated in 
this valley. Grapes will flourish on the side-hills ; and corn 
and wheat, of a large growth, can be successfully raised. 
Fruits are numerous, and of the finest quality. The bread- 
fruit, tamarind, pine-apple, mulberry, orange, peach, guava 
(Psidiitm), and many others, are perfect in their flavor and 
development. Plantains and bananas, limes, cocoa-nuts, the 
castor-oil plant, and the American aloe, attain their highest 
perfection without the least artificial aid. With a climate 
ranging from 60° to 80° Fahrenheit, the valley becomes a 
terrestrial paradise. To a stranger, the growth of vegetation 
seems incredible. The mulberry has been known to grow an 
inch in twenty-four hours, and very many of the young trees 
at the rate of four feet per month. Many persons who have 
visited this valley have marked sticks and pushed them into 
the soil by the side of young trees, and the immense rapidity 
of their growth has almost staggered the evidence of their 
own senses. 

The rich bottoms of the Hanalei Valley contain vegetable 
remains of a highly interesting character. They are the solid 
trunks of trees, from six inches to nearly as many feet in di- 
ameter, and repose at a depth of from two to four feet, in a 
horizontal position, below the surface of the soil. They are 



EVIDENCES OF A REMOTE ANTIQUITY. 207 

found wherever trenches are cut for the purposes of draining 
the land in the valley. The same sort of remains are found 
projecting a number of feet from the banks, and at some dis- 
tance below the surface of the Hanalei and Waioli Rivers. 
When first exposed to the atmosphere they are excessively 
hard, and bid fair to last forever ; but after a few days' expo- 
sure they begin to crumble away to dust. Large marine shells 
have been found in the upper portions of the valley. The en- 
tire region bears ample evidence of a very remote antiquity. 
The lower stratum in the bed of the valley is a fine oceanic 
sand, found at regular intervals. The sea once rolled over it. 
It was not until the neighboring mountains had expended their 
last volcanic fires that the soil of the valley began to form. 
The soil is mostly a debris, washed from the mountains, and 
mingled with decayed vegetable matter. Subsequent to this 
formation, a forest of huge trees has grown up. It took ages, 
even beneath a tropical sun, for those giants of the forest to 
mature, for there is no such species of wood now on the group. 
That forest has been swept down, probably by a heavy tidal 
influx — not at all uncommon in the Pacific Ocean. Over the 
prostrate forest, the soil has accumulated in some places to a 
great depth. Untold generations of years have fled since Na- 
ture has performed this task. Finally, the traveler at this day 
can discover the sites of villages, and of small ponds in which 
the inhabitants cultivated their taro {Arum esculentum). 
But villages, inhabitants, and taro plantations have long since 
passed away. Of the many thousands that once lived in this 
earthly paradise, history makes no mention, and no marble 
points to their places of repose. 

Poets and romancers have flung around the islanders of the 
Pacific the brightest halos of military prowess, and the loveli- 
est finish of humanity unsophisticated. The loves of " Neuha," 
in Byron's " Island," have captivated the senses of many a 
reader, and placed him amid associations seen only by a poetic 
eye, and felt only through the abstract flame of poetic fire. 
So many of those " daughters of the isles" are portrayed as 
being like one would suppose Eve was before she ate the fruit 



208 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

of the interdicted tree — the perfection of all that is perfect. 
But some of my rambles over this group have taught me that 
romance is one thing, and actual experience another. 

While staying in the Valley of Hanalei, I one day set out 
on a short excursion afoot, with my gun, among rocks, fruits, 
and flowers. While on this excursion I was overtaken by a 
heavy rain-storm, and compelled to take refuge in a native 
house which was near. On entering it, I delivered the cus- 
tomary salutation — "aloha!" and sat down a la Kanaka. 
The house was of very limited dimensions, only affording one 
a chance to stand exactly in the centre. A huge Kanaka, 
wrapped in a thick blanket, lay stretched on a mat before a 
dying fire. His wife — I supposed — was similarly enveloped, 
and in a sitting posture close to the expiring embers. She 
was of diminutive stature, and disgustingly homely. Occa- 
sionally she would bestow a furtive glance on her dusky lord, 
and then upon something which appeared to nestle most un- 
quietly in her bosom. I sat surveying her for some time, 
when, instead of an infant, out peered the head of a sickly 
mongrel dog. Its very appearance was repulsive and un~ 
canine, rendered still more so from a partial suffocation be- 
neath the folds of that filthy blanket. Finding it impossible 
to retain him there, his mistress employed herself by picking 
the vermin off him, and depositing them one by one in her 
capacious — mouth ! 

I had many a time heard of the absurd fondness of the na- 
tive women for dogs, and I had seen women pick them up 
out of the way of a swiftly-speeding horse, while they left 
their children exposed to the danger of being trampled to 
death ; but until that moment I had seen nothing equal to the 
performance of that woman of vermin-loving appetite ! It 
was far too delicate for me ! " Shades of the Prophet !" I 
thought, " what a spectacle of debased humanity ! What a 
being for a man to receive into his embrace !" Horrors ! I 
grasped my gun and started to my feet, and although it rained 
a young deluge, I hurried away from that domicile, and took 
refuge under the nearest clump of trees. 



MANUAL-LABOR SCHOOL. 2Q9 

The Mission Station at Hanalei, located between the mouths 
of the Hanalei and Waioli (singing water) Rivers* is one of the 
most picturesque on the group. I found the mission buildings 
in good condition, commodious, and neat. A rather novel 
mode of sermonizing took place on the Sabbath during my 
stay. The native clergyman publicly questioned the audience 
in relation to the sermon, and their answers were publicly 
and promptly returned. I understood the object to be to ob- 
tain their undivided attention, and produce a more lasting 
impression on their minds. 

Connected with this station is a manual-labor school. The 
number of scholars was sixty. They were all native boys, se- 
lected from different parts of the island ; they board with their 
parents or friends, and labor for their own support in part. 
There are two native assistants in the school, and instruction 
is imparted generally in the native language ; one class is 
taught English to some extent. The object of the school is 
to prepare scholars for the seminary, and also for teaching in 
the common schools. 

The branches taught were reading, writing, composition, 
elements of natural philosophy, geography, arithmetic, geom- 
etry, algebra, sacred geography, Church history, moral science, 
and natural theology. 

In these branches the pupils had made a surprising profi- 
ciency. 

Until the annual meeting of the American Board of Missions 
at Cincimiati, October 7th, 1853, this school was sustained by 
said Board at an annual cost of $1500. 



210 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Visit to the Caves at Haena. — Curiosity of the Natives. — The Caves. 
— Tradition concerning a Chief. — Subterranean Lakes. — Perilous 
Position. — Story of a Traveler. — Singular Effects produced by 
Torchlight. — Native Courage and Native Fears. — Terminus of 
Travel by Land. — A Night at Anahola. — Poi and Bed-fellows. 

Six miles beyond the Mission Station at "Waioli are the caves 
of Haena. As these caves are seldom visited, the natives who 
live in the vicinity seldom see the face of any white man ex- 
cepting their missionary. On approaching the caves, the coun- 
try becomes more open, and the movements of the traveler are 
seen at some distance, exciting no small degree of curiosity 
among the natives. It is intensely amusing to see them stand- 
ing as still as so many statues, awaiting his arrival ; and even 
then, the lips alone seem to be invested with motion enough 
to deliver the customary salutation- — " aloha /" 

After passing several houses, the natives seemed to recover 
their confidence. A crowd of men, women, and children fol- 
lowed us to the caves. Some carried long strings of candle- 
nuts (Aleurites triloba), to serve the purpose of torches ; others 
went with the intention of seeing what the haoles (foreigners) 
were about to do ; and others out of mere curiosity, or because 
they had nothing else to engage in. 

The caves are three in number. The first is dry. The 
floor, including a few short windings, covers nearly three acres. 
It had the appearance of having been used as a cattle-pen. A 
rich soil had formed at its entrance. Ferns were growing be- 
tween the crevices of the immense walls, and also in the roof. 
Their contrast from the stalactites was exceedingly imposing. 
The entrance is wide enough to admit several horsemen riding 
abreast. Half way in the roof begins to decline, and at its 
extremity it rests with an acute angle on the floor of the 
cavern. 



TRADITION CONCERNING A CHIEF, <%\\ 

This cave is invested with numerous traditions both singular 
and absurd. The most probable one, however, is that which 
relates to a favorite chief. Many years ago this district was 
invaded, the chief was vanquished, and took refuge in flight. 
The conquerors, wishing to secure him only, and laying aside 
their customary cruelties to the vanquished, spared his tribe 
and their possessions, and quietly withdrew at a short distance 
from the spot. The people became disconsolate at their loss. 
The usual demonstrations of mourning were indulged, and their 
grief found vent in the following expressive dirge : 

" Alas ! alas ! dead is my chief, 
Dead is my friend and my lord : 
My friend in the season of famine, 
My friend in the time of drought, 
My friend in poverty, 
My friend in the rain and the wind, 
My friend in the heat of the sun, 
My friend in the cold from the mountain, 
My friend in the storm, 
My friend in the calm, 
My friend in the eight seas ;* 
Alas ! alas ! gone is my friend, 
And no more will return." 

As their grief continued, the victors became weary of delay ; 
and, believing that the conquered chieftain had really passed 
away to the world of spirits, they commenced a final retreat. 
The captive — for such he truly was — who had been near them 
during the whole of these transactions, left his hiding-place, 
collected his warriors, followed up their retreat, and, in a fa- 
vorable location, overwhelmed them with ruin. Peace and 
safety being restored, the conqueror led his people back to the 
cavern, and showed them the spot in which he had effected 
his concealment. He had heard and seen the warriors of the 
former victorious party in search of him, and close under his 
retreat. 

This celebrated place of retreat is pointed out with a great 
degree of pride at this day by the natives. It is a hole in the 
* The channels between the islands. 



212 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

roof, a little to the right of the entrance of the cave. A me- 
dium sized man would be able to reach the sides of the orifice 
with his hands, and a smart spring would land him on a ledge 
sufficiently wide to conceal him. Above this ledge are two 
apertures obliquely piercing the solid rock, and sufficiently 
wide to admit the body of any fugitive. Snatching a torch 
from one of the natives, and climbing up into this hiding-place, 
I became fully satisfied of its ability to conceal a warrior to 
whom alone it was known. 

The other two caves contain subterranean lakes, which can 
be explored only by the aid of a canoe. The first of these 
lakes is denominated Wai-a-kapa-lae (water of terror). Having 
procured a canoe and secured a good torch, I commenced an 
examination of the first subterraneous pond. It was my mis- 
fortune to have left behind me my sounding-line, so I was com- 
pelled to lay aside one of my intentions — sounding these waters. 
The singular transparency of the water renders its apparent 
depth extremely deceptive. As I left the shore, I dropped a 
large stone where the water was a fathom deep, and it sunk 
in three seconds. About thirty feet from the shore I repeated 
the experiment, and the stone found its way to the bottom in 
twelve seconds. Moving over the surface about thirty feet 
further, I once more dropped a stone, which found the bottom 
in sixty seconds. This proved a depth of twenty fathoms, or 
a hundred and twenty feet at about sixty feet from the shore ! 
The descent of each piece of rock to the bottom was clearly 
defined by a phosphorescent light, which disappeared as it rose 
toward the surface. The sides of this cavern were perpen- 
dicular. The massive roof, covered with stalactites, had an 
angle of twenty degrees, which terminated on the opposite side 
from the entrance. I judged the superficial area of this lake 
to be about fifty thousand square feet. 

The last cave, Wai-a-kana-loa (water of long desolation), is 
by far the most striking. Its formative character is entirely 
different from the other two, and it is located more than a 
third of a mile further westward. A hundred yards from 
the entrance, which is strictly Gothic, is a fine arch of the 



PERILOUS SITUATION. 213 

same natural architecture. At this point the cavern forms a 
right angle, and extends under the mountain nearly an eighth 
of a mile. In the interstices of the roof and sides, ferns, on 
which the genial rays of the sun had never shone, were grow- 
ing hi solitary and strange beauty, and looked as if they were 
fringed with silver. The waters in this cavern were of an 
inky blackness, and retained a strong smell of sulphur. The 
darkness, after passing the arch that led into the second cham- 
ber, was the very " blackness of darkness" itself — for I acci- 
dentally dropped my torch into the water. 

Here was a position ! Where the tortuous path would lead 
to I knew not, and I was equally ignorant as to how soon the 
canoe would come in contact with the rugged sides of this 
Hades, and capsize me into the dark waters. I am not easily 
disconcerted. I trust I am not given to superstition. I have 
enjoyed a sea-bath on the equator a thousand miles from the 
land, and where no soundings could be procured ; and I have 
been perched up in a small boat over the coral reefs of the Pa- 
cific, where, more than a hundred fathoms beneath me, yawned 
fissures as black as night, and amid these sublime scenes I felt 
no undue emotion. But here I was, surrounded by a total 
darkness, in one of Nature's strong prisons, with my canoe 
leaking rapidly, and my attendant native half wild with a su- 
perstitious fear, and I am compelled to admit that for once my 
heart beat faster, and my knees trembled more violently, and 
the cold sweat flowed more freely than ever before in my life. 
In the midst of all this, I had to crawl to the other end of the 
canoe, and take the paddle from the native to whom the canoe 
belonged, for he was working away with all his might. I had 
read of the cold and bitter Acheron of the old Greek mytholo- 
gists, over which the souls of the dead were said to be con- 
veyed to await their destiny, but I never formed so vivid a 
picture of it as now, for I began to imagine I was on its very 
bosom. In this dense darkness I had to remain until, after 
sundry shouts by myself and the native, two or three persons 
came swimming after us with lighted torches in their mouths, 
and they were followed by several others. 



214 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

Every word they uttered and every motion they made re- 
verberated like peals of heavy thunder, and the light of those 
torches cast a most unearthly glare on the faces of the swim- 
mers, on the crest of every little wavelet, and the spacious roof 
itself. They looked as if bathed in a liquid fire ; and the drops 
of water which filtrated through the spacious roof and fell upon 
them, resembled flakes of flame. So vividly did the whole 
impress me, that I could not help recalling the language of 
Dante : 

" Now 'gin the rueful wailings to be heard, 
Now am I come where many a plaining voice 
Smites on my ear. Into a place I came 
Where light was silent all. Bellowing there groan'd 
A noise, as of a sea in tempest torn 
By warring winds. The stormy blast of hell 
With restless fury drives the spirit on, 
Whirled round and dashed amain with sore annoy." 

No sooner did the natives appear with their torches than I 
perceived I was gliding along on a swift current that took its 
course toward the interior of the mountain. A few seconds 
more and I should have been borne beyond the reach of any 
human aid. I exerted all my strength, together with what 
little skill I had, in managing my canoe, for the native was 
stupefied with fear. It was with a feeling of delight I could 
not describe that I succeeded in getting back into the outer 
chamber of the cavern, where I could once more press terra 
Jirma and wipe the cold sweat from my face. 

A singular story, and well authenticated, is told of an En- 
glish gentleman who once visited this third cave. His geolog- 
ical propensities induced him to attempt to procure a piece of 
rock from the inner chamber. Having provided himself with 
sounding-line, sledge-hammer, torch, &c, he got into a canoe 
and launched out upon the lake. But just as he reached the 
Gothic arch separating the two chambers of the cavern, his 
canoe capsized, and he was plunged headlong into the inky 
waters. Recovering his presence of mind, he struck out for 
the shore at the entrance, and succeeded in reaching it. But 



NATIVE COURAGE AND FEARS. 215 

the most remarkable feature in the case was that he brought 
back with him every thing but his torch. It is needless to 
say that he abandoned his geological expedition. 

To a reader of these pages, not less than a visitor of the 
caves, it may seem strange that the natives will indiscrimin- 
ately bathe in the black waters of the last cavern, and even 
penetrate some distance into the inner chamber, and that they 
can not be induced to set a foot into the second subterranean. 
But their superstitious fears flow through an undefinable chan- 
nel. I had before heard of this singular decision, and resolved 
on testing its truth ; so I offered to give one of the party, who 
w r as an expert swimmer, a piece of gold if he would swim 
across that pond. His eyes sparkled and his fingers twitched 
as he looked at the reward, but nothing I could offer him was 
sufficient to overcome his scruples. Tradition says that a ter- 
rific monster, of the basilisk, dragon, or sea-serpent kind, has 
taken up his abode in these waters, and that a party of men, 
women, and girls were once bathing there, when, on a sudden, 
they all disappeared. Since that day it is said that no one 
has ventured to enjoy a bath in that lake. 

Not only do the natives cherish a vague fear of those dark 
caverns, but a foreigner is exceedingly liable to the same feel- 
ing. It requires a good degree of physical and moral cour- 
age to conduct their exploration. On emerging into the clear 
sunlight, I readily concluded that nothing would induce me to 
reattempt the expedition. My visit to the caves of Haena is 
indelibly impressed on my mind, from the fact that, having 
left those " Stygian pools," I climbed over the embankments 
which Nature had thrown up before the entrance to each one 
of them, and walked some distance over the plain to take a 
glance at the overhanging masses of rock which those caverns 
had pierced. They rose to a height of nearly three thousand 
feet, and were perpendicular almost to their summits. I could 
now form some idea of the immense masses of basaltic lava 
under which I had been conducting my explorations. Millions 
of tuns were sustained by the roof of each cavern. 

At a height of several hundred feet from the plains, the 
front of these mountains were pierced by innumerable orifices, 



216 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

which were occupied as lodging-places by the white-tailed frig- 
ate-bird (Phceton atherius). They formed an impregnable 
retreat from the recreant hand of man ; and as these beautiful 
birds rose up on swift wing to their places of abode, they re- 
sembled huge snow-flakes carried by the wind toward the sides 
of the cliffs. 

At a short distance beyond these caverns all land travel 
terminates. At that spot, the plain is cut off by a range of 
precipices four thousand feet above the sea, which laves their 
sides. These precipices comprise jthe districts of Na Pali and 
Halelea (house of rainbows), and extend along the entire north- 
west coast of the island. This chain of precipices is said to 
present a scene of terrific sublimity. I was exceedingly anx- 
ious to survey them from the sea ; but it was the rainy season, 
the winds were frequently heavy, and the sea treacherous, and 
I was reluctantly compelled to abandon the enterprise. 

Having finished my visit on the northwest and north sides 
of the island, I left a long adieu to its magnificent scenery, and 
a warm feeling of respect to my generous entertainers, and 
started out for Koloa. I had spent the day in examining scen- 
ery among the adjacent mountains, and night and a heavy 
rain-storm overtook me at the small village of Anahola. Al- 
though my position was any thing but comfortable, and my 
night's lodgings had a most dreary perspective, I found it im- 
possible to change things for the better. The day's excursion 
had sharpened my appetite, but there was nothing to satisfy it 
but a huge calabash of sour poi. Vexed, impatient, and dis- 
appointed, I threw myself down upon a mat, and, supperless 
and dinnerless, with my wet clothes on, I tried to sleep. 
Through the buzzing of countless multitudes of musquitoes, 
and the eager embraces of gigantic fleas, I was kept tossing 
from side to side, wishing for sleep. Tired nature, however, 
obtained the victory at last. 

On waking up next morning, I ascertained one cause of my 
restlessness. A couple of dirty dogs had nestled down by me 
on one side, and a couple of women (!) on the other. I arose, 
shook myself, saddled my horse, and started at full gallop for 
the south side of the island. 



LEGEND CONCERNING PELE. 217 



CHAPTER XVII. 

FROM KOLOA TO WAIMEA. 

Loko Nomilu, — Legend concerning Pele. — Comparative Mythology. 
— Novel Method of sounding a Lake. — Noble Specimen of a Ha- 
waiian Woman. — Signifi cancy of Native Names. — Nomilu Salt- 
works. — Battle-ground of Wahi-awa. — Incidents and Results of 
the Battle. — Valley of Hanapepe. — A Relic of civilized Law. — 
Arrival at "Waimea. 

The south side of Kauai is of a different physical conforma- 
tion to that of the north. The scenery is more rugged and 
less fertile. The traveler has to undergo more fatigue, and he 
feels less of the poetry of traveling. The eye rests on little 
else than wild lands, stretching from the great central sum- 
mits of the island down to the sea-shore on the south, and 
these slopes are rent asunder in several places by deep ravines 
and valleys. 

Five miles west of Koloa is a small lake, called by the na- 
tives Loko Nomilu. The lake itself is a great natural curi- 
osity ; but it derives a profound interest from its mythological 
associations. It is three hundred yards long by two hundred 
wide, and has a submarine union with the ocean. On three 
sides it is surrounded with lofty and abrupt hills. Tradition 
says that its excavation was the work of Pele, when in search 
of fresh water. But when the goddess had dug down to a cer- 
tain depth, the water from the sea rushed in and spoiled her 
work. At this she became huhu (angry), and immediately 
took her departure to the great volcano on the island of Ha- 
waii, where she has ever since remained. 

Such is one of the mythological legends which the Hawaii- 
ans at this day relate of this terrific deity of volcanic fire. It 
is nothing marvelous that, like other pagan nations, they 
should select from the numerous family of gods a chief deity, 
whom they might invest with supreme attributes. The Jupi- 

K 



218 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 




LOKO NOMILU. 



ter of Pagan Rome was invested with every power and pre- 
rogative which conveyed an ideal of the Supreme. In the 
same light he was regarded by the Greeks. * Modern Brah- 
mism invests Brahm with a spirit of omnipotence and omni- 
presence. For ages past the Gymnosophists of India have 
cherished and inculcated the same creed. If the polished 
Greeks and Romans, and the philosophic Asiatics, fell into the 
belief that Jove and Brahm were at once omnipotent and om- 
nipresent, material and immaterial, in their mysterious nature, 



* " Zevc ear lv aldrjpt 

7j£V£ te yrj' 
Zevc Se ovpavoc, 
TtEvg ra iravra. 

From che Greek o/^Eschylus. 



" Jupiter is the air ; 
Jupiter is the earth ; 
Jupiter is the heaven ; 
All is Jupiter." 



COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY. 219 

it affords no cause for surprise that a people like the Hawaii- 
ans should have ascribed to Pele such extraordinary perform- 
ances, much less is it surprising that this generation, having 
just emerged from a paganism the blackest and most debas- 
ing the world has ever seen, should cling with a childlike sim- 
plicity to the fabled doings of their gods. The old Hawaiians 
had six principal deities to whom they gave distinctive names ; 
but they more frequently addressed only four — Ku, Lono, 
Kane, and Kanaloa. These deities they regarded as having 
their residence above or in the clouds, and as being immate- 
rial, and they were impersonated by idols carved but of wood, 
which received the homage of every man, woman, and child. 
But Pele was as much superior to all these as Jove was to 
Yulcan. She was the deity of volcanic fire — the formative 
agency that originated the group. It was said that she some- 
times assumed the appearance of a woman ; and that when 
she resolved on punishing the inhabitants for a profane ap- 
proach to her awful abode, she summoned, as her ministers of 
vengeance, the contents of the nearest crater, rode on the fore- 
most wave of the fiery torrent, and overwhelmed them with 
destruction. Hence the cause for existing superstitions. It 
is a prominent fact, however, that the operation of natural 
causes is singularly in keeping with the order of native legends. 

But to return to the lake. It retains the most reliable ev- 
idence that it is the remains of a very ancient quiescent crater. 
There is also a submarine connection with the ocean, the shore 
of which is distant but two hundred feet. 

Having been informed that this lake was fathomless, I felt 
only more solicitous to test the mystery. There were no men, 
however, on the premises ; and, two women excepted, the 
little village was temporarily deserted. There were several 
canoes on the shore ; but the lake was much disturbed by a 
heavy north wind, so that they would have been rendered 
nearly useless. But I felt as though I could not abandon the 
expedition. The gentleman who accompanied me thither in- 
formed the women of my object in coming, and assured them 
I was extremely anxious to know the depth of water in that 



220 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

lake, and that we would wait until some of the men returned 
from their fishing excursion. 

But one of them soon provided a remedy. She proposed 
swimming into the lake with a sounding-line to make the re- 
quired measurement. Our remonstrance against such a meas- 
ure was in vain, for she resolutely assured us it would be not 
only an easy performance, but afford her much satisfaction to 
have an opportunity of serving me. She procured a piece of 
wili-wili wood, exceedingly light, about six feet long, and as 
many inches in diameter. This she insisted on carrying to 
the north end of the lake, where, under the lee of the high 
hills, she launched the log of wood. After wading in until it 
was deep enough to swim, she placed the log firmly under her 
chest, keeping it there with one hand, and retaining the sound- 
ing-line with the other. In this position she struck down the 
lake, stopping at short intervals to let down the line, which 
she knotted at the surface of the water every time she found 
the bottom. This done, she would gather up her line, replace 
her log, and resume her course. And she pursued this plan 
until her task was done. 

It would be superfluous to say that this feat excited our ad- 
miration, or that we compensated her for her pains. It was 
the most novel expedition I had ever seen ; nor could I fully 
realize it, until I remembered that in these islands, as in other 
parts of Polynesia, and in the Caribbean Sea, the women and 
girls are the best swimmers. The Hawaiians are almost am- 
phibious. Volumes might be written detailing their extra- 
ordinary feats in the water. It is owing' to their frequent 
bathing that many of the women of Polynesia display such 
an exquisite physical contour. 

An examination of the sounding-line satisfied me as to 
the depth of the lake. I found it to vary from five to eleven 
fathoms. 

I can hardly take a leave of this novel navigator without 
a very brief glance at her personal character. Aside from her 
ingenuity, Emele possessed a great natural nobility. At the 
time of my visit, she was mother of nine children, all of whom 



SPECIMEN OF A HAWAIIAN WOMAN. 221 

were living — an extraordinary event in the history of a Ha- 
waiian woman, for infanticide, abortion, and neglect of children 
during their infancy sweep off thousands. Although Emele's 
face was decidedly intelligent, its predominant expression was 
that of good nature. To her natural nobility of character 
was added the simplicity of a child. Her character may be 
defined in a few words : she was just what Nature and Chris- 
tianity had made her ; she was, therefore, philosophically and 
morally speaking, a specimen of the highest style of woman, 
without the least degree of sophistry. 

As a mother, Emele retained an ardent and self-sacrificing 
love for her children — a fact which readily accounts for their 
number and preservation. A few months before I met her, 
her youngest child, Lapouli^ (day of darkness), lay at the 
point of death. She was almost frantic with grief. Koloa 
was five miles distant from her home ; but she walked that 
distance, over a very rugged region of country, to procure med- 

* Hawaiian personal names are usually significant of some par- 
ticular act, event, or employment. I became acquainted with an in- 
stance of a birth in the absence of the father and husband. The 
mother called the child Holokai, which signifies " to go upon the 



seas." 



Emele's little daughter was born on the *7th of August, 1850, at 10 
A.M., during an almost total eclipse of the sun at the Hawaiian 
group, at which hour the fowls went to roost. She called her child 
Lapouli (day of darkness), in commemoration of the event. 

The following are significant: 

Aiaipali — guard the precipice. 

Kaiaimakani — wind watcher. 

Hoki — the donkey. 

Kaipu — the calabash. 

Kuaihelani — purchase the heavens. 

Pauahi — fire-destroyed. 

Opukahaia — ripped abdomen. 

Kahekili — thunder. 

Kapule — prayer. (Queen of Kauai, 1819-21.) 

Ona — intoxicated. 

[Navalevale — weak, feeble. 

Mataki — wind. 
These specimens might be pursued to any length, 



222 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

icine for her sick child. On one occasion she reached Koloa 
at a late hour, and before she could return, a dark night set 
in upon her. The heavens gathered blackness, and it rained 
almost a deluge. The family at the Mission Station used ev- 
ery conceivable argument to induce her to stay with them 
until morning, but all was in vain. The undying fountain 
of that holy thing — a mother's love, gushed forth in all its 
strength ; and bare-headed, and thinly clad, and without any 
covering for her feet, she went forth into the storm to return 
to her child. Night after night, for weeks in succession, she 
watched by the couch of her suffering little one, pillowing its 
head on her own bosom, giving it cooling drinks, and using 
every effort to soothe its agonies. The child recovered ; but 
its restoration to health was followed by the prostration of the 
mother, whose reason was nearly shattered from the effects of 
long and dreary vigils. 

In the region of the lake are the salt-works of Nomilu. 
They are merely a collection of open vats, formed by a low 
wall or embankment of mud, sun-dried. These vats are oc- 
casionally filled with sea-water, which is evaporated by an 
exposure to the sun, leaving behind it a thick sediment of fine 
salt. These works are under the control of a few natives, 
who derive from them a very snug little profit. 

This region forms the southern portion of the battle-ground 
of Wahiawa. The traveler can not pass over it without ex- 
periencing deep emotions. With a range of mountains bound- 
ing the battle-field on the north, and the ocean rolling its blue 
waves on the south, it is just such a place as would call forth 
deeds of noble daring from the warriors of the last generation 
of Hawaiians. 

In 1824 a fierce struggle took place on this plain. Headed 
by the disaffected young prince Hume-hume, son of Kaumua- 
j-ii, the last king of this island, a band of insurgents attacked 
the Royalists in the fort at Waimea. This event occurred on 
the 8th of August, before the dawn of day. The insurgents 
were repulsed, and they fled toward the Valley of Hanapepe. 
The Royalists, few in number, and perplexed as to the only 



RESULTS OF THE BATTLE. 223 

legitimate mode of action, were compelled to stand in defense 
of the garrison. At length a dispatch was forwarded by sea 
to Honolulu. The news of the recent struggle at Kauai, the 
danger to which the little garrison was exposed, and the pros- 
pect of rapine by the insurgents, excited the most intense in- 
terest at Honolulu. In a short time a thousand warriors were 
ready, and eager to embark for the scene of conflict. 

Singular and romantic was the method taken to vanquish 
the rebels ; but it was characteristic of the people in those 
days. The regent of the kingdom, Kaahumanu, was absent 
at Lahaina when the missive arrived at Honolulu from Kauai. 
Immediately a messenger was sent thither to inform the queen 
of the recent battle. From lip to lip, as if borne on the wings 
of the wind, his words spread from the royal abode until they 
found their way over the island of Maui. On hearing the 
danger to which his friend Kalanimoku — general of the royal 
forces at Kauai — was exposed, Kaikioewa, an old chief of 
high rank, vehemently addressed a crowd of warriors in the 
following strain : " I am old, like Kalanimoku. We played 
together when children. We have fought together beside our 
king, Kamehameha I. Our heads are now alike growing gray. 
Kalanimoku never deserted me ; and shall I desert him now, 
when the rebels of Kauai rise against him ? I will not deal 
with him thus. If one of us is ill, the others can hasten from 
Kauai to Maui to see the sick. And now, when our brother 
and leader is in peril, shall no chief go to succor him ? I will 
go ; and here are my men also !" 

The speech of the old warrior-chief acted like magic upon 
the courage and enthusiasm of his soldiers. With two other 
chiefs, accompanied by their eager warriors, Kaikioewa em- 
barked for the scene of conflict. No sooner had they left the 
shores of the island, than the regent proclaimed a fast, which 
was most religiously observed by many of the people. 

On the 18th of August, these re-enforcements, joined by 
others that had arrived from Oahu, placed themselves under 
Hoapili, a youthful and ambitious warrior, and subsequently 
Governor of Maui. Leaving their quarters in the fort at Wai- 



224 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

mea, they marched for the encampment of the rebel forces. 
Within eight miles of the insurgents, they were overtaken by 
as lovely a Sabbath as ever dawned on creation. Christiani- 
ty had just begun to influence a few leading chiefs and several 
of the natives. The warriors halted, and the day was solemn- 
ly observed by the performance of religious rites. 

With the rising of the morrow's sun, Hoapili and his chosen 
band were again seen in line of march. They crossed the 
highly picturesque valley and river of Hanapepe, and advanced 
until within a mile of the insurgents. At this spot, Hoapili 
knelt in presence of his little army, who followed his example, 
and sent up an invocation to the God of battles : " Jehovah ! 
God of the warriors of Kauai ! Protector of the liberties for 
which Kamehameha, our old warrior-king, fought and bled ! 
we are here in a righteous cause. Our enemies wish to give 
our lives to the wind, and our bones to the sun -rays that scorch 
the plains. Put on thy shield, grasp thy war-spear, and lead 
us on to the struggle. In thy presence we will conquer our 
enemies, and fight thy battles for freedom !" 

The warriors arose from their knees, marched up to the rebel 
forces, and commenced the battle. The contest lasted several 
hours. Sometimes the Royalists were repulsed, but at last vic- 
tory was declared in their favor. The insurgents were scat- 
tered. Their chief fled to the mountains, but was subsequent- 
ly captured. The vanquished were taken to Honolulu, where 
they received every manifestation of respect and kindness which 
royal clemency could bestow. Such a step did more to crush 
a spirit of rebellion than though recourse to their old pagan 
cruelties had been employed. This was the last battle for the 
independence of Kauai. 

The western boundary of the battle-ground of Wahiawa is 
the Valley of Hanapepe. In its physical aspect and conforma- 
tion it is entirely different from the Valley of Hanalei. By the 
peculiar softness of its scenery, the latter seems to address the 
finer feelings of the soul ; by the rugged sublimity of its feat- 
ures, the former awakens emotions of awe and astonishment. 
On reaching its brink, both horse and rider naturally come to 



VALLEY'OF HANAPEPE. 225 

a halt, and a tourist can not fail to admire the richly-cultivated 
valley below. The only place of descent is near the mouth, 
where the principal part of the village is located. Here the 
natives frequently assemble for bathing, and to bask in the 
warm and delicious sunlight. At the mouth of the river, a 
heavy sand-bar disputes its natural egress into the boundless 
ocean beyond. 

The bed of the valley is a rich vegetable and mineral debris. 
Here and there it is dotted with numerous plantations of ta?v, 
small cocoa-nut groves, and native dwellings. The ever-peace- 
ful river incessantly glides on through all these objects. As in 
the Yalley of Hanalei, the traveler frequently discovers unques- 
tionable evidences of extensive population in other days, such 
as village-sites and lands that were once cultivated. War, 
disease, and epidemics, besides natural causes, have swept aw T ay 
multitudes, whose resting-places remain unknown to the pres- 
ent generation. The inhabitants are kind to visitors who be- 
stow on them the least mark of respect, and endeavor to ap- 
preciate their kindly offices. 

The Yalley of Hanapepe is a noble specimen of Sandwich 
Island scenery. It is characterized rather by the savage and 
awful than the beautiful and sublime. There is that, howev- 
er, which can not fail to attract the profound admiration and 
awe of the tourist. In some places the valley contracts to a 
few yards in width, where the river comes sweeping along like 
a second Phlegethon, freely distributing its " sweat of agony," 
and moistening the sides of its boundaries, which rise to a per- 
pendicular height of five hundred to a thousand feet. Again 
the giant sides expand to a considerable width, admitting the 
warm sunlight, which creates a pleasant temperature. The 
entire length of the valley is tortuous, and its mighty sides 
grow in height as its source is approached. In this region, 
and at an early day, the throes of Nature must have been al- 
most almighty ; for a close survey of the lofty table-lands above 
convey the conviction that the entire valley was formed by a 
rending asunder of the earth to a great depth by a mighty 
earthquake. At the head of this valley, Nature's fiat pror 

K2 



226 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

claims to the traveler, " Thus far shalt thou come, and no far- 
ther !" On looking upward, the huge cliffs seem as if coming 
down upon your head, and a few scattered and stunted trees, 
projecting from their summits almost horizontally, look as if 
they are retained there against their will, or as if ashamed of 
their dwarfish stature. A lover never stole the first kiss from 
the lips of his earthly idol with more modesty and courtesy 
than the fleecy clouds kiss these shrubs and the rugged rocks 
on whose sides they grow. 

The finishing feature in this savage panorama is a heavy 
cascade, leaping, with " delirious hound," in three separate dis- 
tances, down the time-worn cliffs. The first leap is thirty feet, 
upon a ledge of rocks ; the second is a hundred, where it seems 
to crush another ledge ; the third, of equal distance, falls into 
a deep basin placed by the hand of Nature for its reception, 
where it whirls and eddies like a miniature Charybdis. 

The journey to this scene is one replete with toil and abso- 
lute danger to a visitor, but he is amply repaid for both. 

Within a short mile of Waimea village, and on the east side 
of the river, stood a rude frame, which had once served the pur- 
pose of a gallows. Several years since, four natives murdered 
a foreigner who resided in Waimea. They were arrested, 
found guilty, and sentenced to expiate their transgressions by 
a forfeiture of their own lives by hanging. From this rude 
gallows they took their final leave of all below, and passed 
into the sublime mystery of death. On the spot where the 
crowd stood to witness the execution of their countrymen, a 
small grove of kou bushes ( Cordia sebestena) has sprung up, 
as if in mourning for the wretched criminals. The existence 
of this ominous relic is sacredly protected, and it stands as a 
faithful monitor to all evil doers. 

Waimea may be seen at a distance. of several miles from the 
eastward. On coming up to the banks of the beautiful river 
which has originated the village, the cooling water is exceed- 
ingly grateful. The traveler advances some distance up the 
stream to the regular fording-place, where he is sure to find a 
number of natives ready to assist him over to the other bank. 



WAIMEA VILLAGE. 227 



If the tide should be in and the river high, he may unsaddle 
his horse, take him by the bridle-rein, and jump into a canoe 
propelled, probably, by some Naiad of a native girl. In trav- 
eling over this interesting group of islands, such incidents are 
by no means uncommon, and certainly not objectionable to a 
reasonable foreigner. But the most amusing part of these 
performances is the eagerness displayed by the natives in their 
kindly offices to the traveler. Now and then a huge, brawny 
fellow will take him up out of the canoe when it reaches the 
opposite bank, and, to prevent his boots becoming wet, will 
carry him in his arms, and deposit him safely on terra jirma, 
and see that the horse is resaddled. For all this, however, a 
good remuneration is, of course, expected. 

From the west bank of the ford, a ride of two minutes 
brings the traveler into Waimea. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

"Waimea Village — River — Harbor. — Historical Reminiscences. — 
Charges against Captain Cook. — Visit to an ex-Queen. — A Glance 
at her History. — Russian Fort at Waimea. — Expulsion of the Rus- 
sians. — Missionary Church and Station. — Peculiarities of this Sta- 
tion. — A Sabbath at Waimea. — Missionary Labor. — Practice ver- 
sus Poetry. — The right kind of an Epitaph. 

The village of Waimea is the capital of Kauai. In this 
relation, however, it diners in no respect from any village on 
the island, unless it be that a few of the houses are composed 
of adobes ; that there is one street in it, and that the village 
itself is a little larger. The population in the village and up 
the river numbered about seven hundred — a fearful decrease 
when compared with the census of a few years past. Year 
by year the population declines. 

About this village there is not the least attraction to the per- 
manent stay of a foreigner of any merit ; on the contrary, all 
is cheerless and monotonous, and unless the visitor becomes 
deeply interested during his visit — a thing not at all likely — 



228 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

he is glad to get away as early as possible. The least motion 
of men or animals, and especially of the wind, is certain to 
raise a cloud of thick red dust, which covers the entire village ; 
and when the breath of Boreas does get fairly aroused, the re- 
sult is almost insupportable. Eyes, mouth, nostrils, ears, and 
clean linen especially, seem to be the chief objects of ven- 
geance. Numerous ablutions are required to remove the evil, 
before a person can fully recognize himself in a mirror. Oph- 
thalmia may be attributed not so much to the action of the 
trade- winds alone as to these clouds of red lava-dust. Vege- 
tation, what little there is of it, and every fixed object, borrows 
from these flying atoms an unnatural tinge. 

But it may be deemed sacrilegious thus to speak of an island- 
capital. 

The river of Waimea is one of the chief objects of attraction. 
To the existence of this romantic stream may be traced that 
of the village. Having its source in the central mountains of 
the island, it flows on for miles in undisturbed repose toward 
the embrace of the ocean. Like an infant Nile, its influence 
is highly fertilizing. Flowing as it does by numerous dwell- 
ings, and watering scores of taro beds ; affording drink to the 
people, and convenience for canoe-sailing, it is of more value 
to the inhabitants than though it were a second Pactolus. 

The bosom of this tranquil stream has been the scene of 
many a loving embrace, and of many a final avowal, by the 
youthful Hawaiians of many generations. Sailing along in 
their swift canoes beneath the sun-lit sky, or when Nature was 
bathed in the more poetic light of the moon and her attendant 
orbs, the zephyrs alone caught those vows and their soft and 
languishing responses. The unde finable emotions which Cu- 
pid breathes in the bosoms of his votaries are not, and can not 
be, confined within the luxurious bowers of haughty potentates. 
Not merely do they sway the houri, who glide with smooth 
steps and soul-beaming eyes through the immortal saloons in 
Mohammed's paradise ; not merely does love solitarily hover 
amid the damask curtains and perfumed couches of an Orient- 
al harem ; in all probability, it glows as intensely in the bos- 



/ 



WAIMEA HARBOR. 23^ 

oms of the young Hawaiians, as it did in the soul of Sappho 
when she composed her matchless " Odes," or died so tragical 
a death for the love of Phaon. 

Several times I have seen a muscular youth, sitting opposite 
his lovely inamorata, moving his light canoe over the calm 
waters of this stream, and drinking in the soul-fire that beam- 
ed in her eyes. It was a bright scene ! And his own eyes 
seemed as bright, and his arm as strong and active, while he 
paid her his attentions, as though the Golden Age — of which 
w T e love frequently to dream — had come back with all its glory 
and purity to this fallen world. But most of this bright im- 
agery is mutable and of short duration, and there are not a 
few who can say, 

" Alas ! our young affections run to waste, 
Or water but the desert, whence arise 
But weeds of dark luxuriance, tares of haste, 
Rank at the core, though tempting to the eyes ; 
Flowers whose wild odors breathe but agonies, 
And trees whose gums are poison ; such the plants 
Which spring beneath her steps as Passion flies 
O'er the world's wilderness, and vainly pants 
For some celestial fruit forbidden to our wants." 

The harbor of Waimea is merely an open roadstead. It is, 
however, the best anchorage on the shores of the island, and 
is deemed perfectly safe for vessels of a large class, except in 
the months of January and February, when the trade-winds 
are interrupted by heavy southwest winds. 

The historical reminiscences which cluster around this har- 
bor and village are of deep interest to a traveler. They speak 
of bold, intrepid men — explorers of new realms — who have 
come here at various periods, and gone away forever. The 
renowned Cook anchored first in this harbor when he first 
discovered the group in January, 1778. The great and good 
Vancouver was here in 1792. It was visited by the United 
States Exploring Expedition in 1840. 

Cook has many times been charged by writers — but by 
none more than missionaries — with two glaring faults, name- 
ly, a clandestine appropriation to his own use of a set of 



232 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

maps and charts found in a Spanish galleon that was cap- 
tured by Lord Anson in 1748, and also as having introduced 
syphilis into the group of islands. 

The first of these charges is decidedly improbable ; the sec- 
ond is exceedingly questionable. 

So many writers have trodden the same path in asserting 
these charges, that at this late day, it may seem the height of 
presumption to attempt their refutation. But justice to truth 
in great historical events, demands at least a passing notice. 

The vessel said to have been captured by Lord Anson is 
described as being bound " from Manilla to the Russian set- 
tlements in America. On its way from America," it was 
seized. It is also stated, that on her outward voyage this 
galleon discovered " certain islands, whose latitude agreed 
with that of Hawaii. The name given them on the chart 
was Los Monjes. As they were m the same latitude, and 
in the route from Manilla to Russian America, it is believed 
that they were the Sandwich Islands."^ 

The latter portion of this paragraph is entirely vague. A 
mere belief that the "Los Monjes" were the Sandwich Isl- 
ands did not render them so. It is thoroughly understood that 
modern navigation has corrected the geographical positions 
laid down by many of the early explorers of the Pacific Ocean. 
It is equally true that the locations assigned by Cook to his 
discoveries have been subsequently found to be correct. This 
nice accuracy is a noble comment on the splendid genius of 
that distinguished navigator Whoever carefully reads the 
narratives of his voyages will discover a singular magnanim- 
ity of character, a truthfulness of description, and a singleness 
of purpose, which are seldom copied by men having so much 
under their command as Cook had. He had candor enough 
to acknowledge his indebtedness to aid received from any 
source opened by previous navigators ; and no man was ever 
more conscious than himself that such an acknowledgment 
could not have detracted from his justly merited fame. That 
he was the discoverer of the Sandwich group is evident from 
* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. ii., p. 61. 



CHARGES AGAINST COOK. 233 

the authority of the natives themselves ; and, in this instance, 
such authority is ample. 

But there are stronger considerations than these. As these 
islands are said to have been the "Los Monjes" of the early 
Spaniards, and as they were located immediately en route 
from Panama, Acapulco, Mazatlan, and other Spanish Amer- 
ican ports — in which great commercial interests were sustained 
— to Manilla and other Eastern ports, is it reasonable to ad- 
mit that they would fail to render this group a half-way depot 
for their commerce across this ocean ? Had they failed to 
take this step, they certainly would have called here for water ; 
for at that period, vessels used to contain water at sea were 
any thing but perfect and convenient, and a frequent supply, 
during those long voyages, could not but be of vital importance 
to the crews and commanders of those vessels. 

If we admit many exceptions that have been urged against 
the probability of these theories, there are others of still great- 
er moment. They are facts, however, rather than theories. 
It has been stated that the Spaniards kept their knowledge of 
the navigation of these seas a profound secret from the rest 
of the commercial world. * In this instance, and for a short 
period, it might have been done with a view to monopolize 
the commerce between the western coast of America and the 
east coast of Asia, as a means of filling the coffers of Spain 
through her colonies in the West. And yet such a step could 
not long have been retained a secret ; nor would it have ac- 
corded with the national character of Spain at that period, 
much less would it have been consonant with the boastful pa- 
geantry of the then ruling monarch. From the time of the 
conquest of Granada by Ferdinand the Catholic, Spain has 
not been backward to boast her conquests and possessions, 
her arts and sciences. The discoveries made by the great 

* "The Manilla ships are the only ones which have traversed this 
vast ocean, except a French straggler or two ; and during near two 
ages, in which this trade has been carried od, the Spaniards have, 
with the greatest care, secreted all accounts of their voyages." — In- 
troduction to Lord Anson's Voyages, p. 15. London, 1*748. 



234 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

Columbus, under the auspices of the same monarch, remained 
no secret. The knowledge that a western continent, or New 
World was found, spread from the palace at Madrid across 
the summits of the Alps and over the Ural Mountains, and 
sent a profound thrill to the utmost limit of the commercial 
world. It opened a new era in the history of nations by giv- 
ing a new impulse to long dormant energies. It was imme- 
diately followed by the sword and the crucifix, precisely in the 
same manner as Mohammed and his successors conveyed the 
dread alternative of the Koran : the sword demolished the 
sovereignty of the rulers of aboriginal races ; the Cross, borne 
aloft by a haughty hierarchy, tore from their altars and tem- 
ples the profuse trappings of a splendid paganism. It was in 
this way that the Aztec Empire crumbled to the dust, and 
that the palaces of the Montezumas were deprived of their 
original tenants to make way for the soldiers of Cortes. In 
the same way the Peruvian sovereigns were hurled from their 
thrones, and the Children of the Sun became mingled with 
the descendants of the conquerors. 

The Hawaiian Islands have been peopled from time im- 
memorial. If they had ever been discovered by Spanish nav- 
igators, would not attempts, at least, have been made by Spain 
to reduce them to her commerce, laws, and religion ? Would 
Spain have permitted them to be wrested from her grasp with- 
out extending some remonstrance ? Did Spain ever discover 
valuable territory, and not attempt to colonize it ? Did she 
ever permit her colonies to pass away, in silence, from her 
grasp ? Let her national history for three centuries past — let 
the youthful republics of South America — let the present con- 
dition of Cuba answer ! 

Hawaiian history makes mention of all the vessels that 
have called at the islands at the time they were about to 
emerge to civilization. The prominent events recorded in that 
history have never been successfully disputed. It mentions a 
vessel which, generations ago, "was wrecked in the surf at 
Pale, Keei [south side of Kealakeakua Bay, Hawaii]."* The 
• Hawaiian Spectator, vol. ii., p. 60. 



CHARGES AGAINST COOK. 335 

people speak of the origin of the group — of a long Hue of chiefs 
and kings — of the frequent and sanguinary wars which devas- 
tated entire districts, * but they are silent about the arrival 
of any navigator previous to Cook. 

If the Spaniards ever did discover this archipelago, then the 
silence maintained by Hawaiian history and tradition is most 
marvelously strange. No navigators could have procured a 
chart of the group without adopting a rigid system of inter- * 
island navigation, and in such a proceeding they certainly 
would have been seen by the islanders. The arrival of the 
first exploring ship could never have been forgotten by a peo- 
ple entirely unaccustomed to such a scene. When Cook's 
ships arrived, they awakened a curiosity among the Hawaii- 
ans as intense as did the ships of Columbus among the ab- 
origines of the new world, and the incident forms one of the 
leading features in their historical records. It is, therefore, an 
undoubted fact that the illustrious Cook was the discoverer 
of the Sandwich . Islands, and that he employed honorable 
means in their discover} 7 . 

"We come now to the second charge — that, at the visit of 
Cook, the syphilis, with its catalogue of attendant evils, was 
first introduced among the Hawaiians. On this point little 
need be said ; and I shall reserve the bulk of my remarks 
until I arrive at the causes of depopulation. And here I would 
have the reader understand that I am pleading for no man or 
class of men, but for truth in history. Whatever may have 
been the condition of the nation at the time of Cook's visit, 
certain it is that the conduct of his crews could not, and did 
not, tend to debase the people any more. A darker picture 
can not be portrayed of Hawaiian character at that precise 
period than is given by their own historians. " When foreign 
vessels first visited these shores, the natives were enveloped in 
darkness. They worshiped idols, were schooled and practiced 
in licentiousness, and led captive at the pleasure of Satan, "f 
" There can be no doubt but that the ancient Hawaiians, as 
far back as their own traditions go, were idolaters, devoted to 

* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. iL, p. 211-215. f Ibid., p. 219. 



236 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

, __ 

sensual pleasures, easily provoked, and inflicting injuries one 
on another."^ " There were other evils also in ancient days. 
Infanticide, polygamy, polyandria, licentiousness, suicide, mur- 
der, burying the aged alive, killing offenders without trial, 
robbery, with other acts of a similar character. That time 
was very different from the present. 

M, M. J£ Jfc . Jfc Ob £b 

Zff ^p w •JS" w *Js* w 

" The land was full of darkness, folly, iniquity, oppression, 
pain, and death. A pit of destruction, dark, polluted, deadly, 
and ever-burning, was the dwelling of the Hawaiian in ancient 

times. "t 

So much for facts in native testimony. But how it was 
possible to impair the morals of a people to which history so 
plainly points, is the very sublime of mystery itself. There is 
not a darker page in the history of humanity than that record- 
ed by Hawaiian historians concerning their own people at the 
time the foreigner first landed upon their shores. When Cook 
anchored his vessels in the Bay of Waimea, he took every pre- 
caution:]: to prevent licentious intercourse on the part of his 
crew. After Kakupuu had been prevented from stealing iron 
from the " strange ships," his zeal to obtain it was in no de- 
gree diminished. A chief woman, who was sister to the then 
ruling king, Kaumualii, of Kauai, proposed a plan by which the 
much-wished-for iron could be secured (for iron was a precious 
thing among the early Hawaiians). Her advice was, " Let 
us not fight our god,§ but gratify him, that he may be propi- 

* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. ii., p. 220. f Ibid., vol. ii., p. 445. 

\ " One order given by Captain Cook at this island was that none 
of the boats' crews should be permitted to go on shore ; the reason 
of which was, that he might do every thing in his power to prevent 
the importation of a fatal disease. * * * With the same view, 
he directed that all female visitors should be excluded from the ships. 
Another necessary precaution taken by the captain was a strict in- 
junction that no person known to be capable of propagating disor- 
der should be sent upon duty out of the vessels." — A Narrative of 
Cook's Voyages, by A. Kippis, D.D., F.R.S. and S.A. London, 17 88. 
American edition. 

§ " The people were filled with terror and confusion, concluded 



VISIT TO AN EX- QUEEN. 237 

tious."^ It is said that " she gave her daughter to be Lono's 
(Captain Cook's) wife."t 

Such is the alleged origin of syphilis in the Hawaiian Isl- 
ands. There is not the least proof, however, that the distin- 
guished navigator accepted the offer made him by the king's 
sister. But, supposing his own biographers to have done him 
justice — and it may fairly be presumed that they would aim 
at correctness — there is strong presumptive proof to the con- 
trary. % 

If the reader will pardon this long digression, and, if he 
feels inclined, blame truth rather than my love of rambling, I 
promise him he shall have little cause for a similar complaint 
through the rest of these pages. 

Soon after my arrival at Waimea I had the honor of an in- 
terview with Kapule, an ex- queen, and once the favorite wife 
of the last king of Kauai. She had removed her residence from 
Wailua, and taken up her permanent abode at this village, 
once the seat of her ancestors. I found her occupying a neat 
stone house, handsomely matted on the floor of the apartment ; 
for there was only one, and that served for every purpose. 
There was something about it that indicated ease, comfort, 
and dignity. Although not so immense as formerly, Kapule' s 
physical bulk was pretty solid. In height she was nearly six 
feet, and her weight between two and three hundred pounds. 
Her age was above sixty. Her countenance was the very seat 
of perfect good-nature, and her conversation was exceedingly 
cheerful. Her " maids (?) of honor" were two or three of the 
handsomest girls I saw on the group. In 1824, she bore arms 

that the foreigners were superior beings, called the captain, and gave 
him the name of Lono." — Dibble's History, p. 32. 

* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. ii., p. 62. f Ibid. 

\ "He possessed, in an eminent degree, all the qualifications req- 
uisite for his professions and great undertakings, together with the 
amiable and worthy qualities of the best of men. 

****** 

"Mild, just, but exact in discipline, he was a father to his people, 
who were attached to him from affection, and obedient from confi- 
dence." — Introduction to Cook's Voyages, p. 87. London, 1785. 



238 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



in the old stone fort against the insurgent warriors. She has 
always retained the reputation of kindness to foreigners — a 
report which her deportment toward myself amply sustained. 

But Kapule's history has been an eventful one. When her 
husband had ceded this island to Kamehameha the Great, it 
was thought that she exercised too much influence over him. 
By royal authority he was admonished to put her away ; but 
she was his favorite wife, and his heart clung to her with an 
intense affection, and the order was disregarded. Soon after 
the cession of the island, the conqueror was summoned to the 
world of spirits. The imperious Kaahuuanu was almost in- 
consolable at the loss of her royal husband. Suddenly she 
bethought herself of the King of Kauai. He was the hand- 
somest man on the group, and his own son ranked next with 
him in this particular. But the bereaved woman was a queen ! 
So she sent an order to Kauai for the king and his son to await 
her pleasure at her royal apartments in Honolulu. They obey- 
ed the summons, and on the 9th of October, 1821, both father 
and son were secured to her conjugal bed by the tie of mar- 
riage ! Thus Kapule was deprived of both husband and child 
in a single day ! Subsequently she was expelled from the 
Church for an indulgence which would have been legitimate 
had not her liege lord been snatched away from her to share 
the couch of a royal paramour.^ 

On the east bank, at the mouth of theWaimea River, stand 
the remains of a fort built by an agent of the Russian colony 
at Sitka. The walls are composed of large masses of basaltic 
rock, mingled with lava stones that have been insecurely put 
together. It has been said that the agent aspired to a lease 
of the whole island, and that he built this fort for its defense — 
a thing totally improbable and impossible. But the fort was 
erected under the auspices of Kaumualii, the king of the island. 
The magazine was completed, a flag-staff erected, and on the 
seaward wall several guns were mounted. 

At this stage of the work (in 1820), news was carried to 

* Since leaving the Sandwich Islands, I have received the intelli- 
gence that Kapule died at Waimea, Kauai, August 26, 1853. 



A SABBATH AT WAIMEA. 339 

Oahu that the Russians, through their agent, Dr. Schoof, were 
about to seize the island of Kauai. Kamehameha the Great, 
and Kalaimoku, a high chief of Oahu, viewed the proceedings 
with alarm. A messenger was sent to the King of Kauai or- 
dering him to expel the doctor forthwith. The mandate was 
immediately complied with, and the ambitious agent was ban- 
ished from his possessions. 

But widely different was that half-finished fortress at the 
time of my visit from its condition at the time the Russian 
agent was expelled. Then it was impregnable to the fiery 
assaults of the rebel forces, and the engines of death sent their 
echoes far over the bay and up the peaceful river. But now 
every gun was dismounted ; the powder magazine was used 
as a native dwelling ; while the interior of the old ruin was 
cultivated for the purpose of raising sweet potatoes ( Convol- 
vulus batatus). Some half dozen shoeless and stockingless — 
and almost every thing else-less — soldiers, without arms and 
ammunition, were lounging over the useless guns, or stretched 
on their backs upon the hard stones, and under a tropical sun, 
with mouths wide open, and fast asleep. I knew not which 
looked the most desolate, the ruin itself, or its ruined defend- 
ers, ycleped soldiers. 

As a mission station, "Waimea is extremely uninviting. 
There is no special incentive to any man to go there _and re- 
side as a missionary, and a life-devotion to a people living in 
such a region as that is the strongest evidence that a man is 
actuated solely by the purest motives for the furtherance of 
moral good. The scenery is of a bleak and changeless char- 
acter ; the climate is warm, dry, and choking. The eye rests 
on no splendid groves and foliage-clad hills, as it does at nearly 
every other station on the group. A comparative desolation 
frowns back the tourist's gaze. The only feature of physical 
beauty is the river and a portion of the valley through which 
it flows. 

I spent one Sunday at Waimea. It was one of such a na- 
ture as I can never forget, nor can I repel the desire to at- 
tempt a partial description of it. On going to the native 



240 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

Church, I found the audience nearly all assembled. A solemn 
silence and decorum pervaded that audience and the entire 
scene. The building in which services were conducted had 
formerly been occupied as a private dwelling-house. It was 
now in a state of rapid decay ; the grass was nearly all torn 
off the outsides, and the roof was about tumbling in . Through 
the wide apertures caused by the lost thatch from the side 
facing the south, an extensive view of the ocean could be ob- 
tained, and its foaming surges could be seen at a few yards' 
distance. The missionary commenced the services of the day 
with a brief invocation. A hymn was sung, in which all the 
congregation appeared to unite. As their song of praise as- 
cended on high, the everlasting hymn of the ocean mingled 
with it, and produced such an effect on my own entire being 
as I had never before felt. The text was announced. It spoke 
of eternal life and eternal death. Every auditor hung with 
an intense attention on the words of the missionary. A da- 
guerreotype of that audience, as it then appeared, would be 
invaluable to a physiognomist. There was every variety of 
countenance. There were the young, just starting out upon 
life's great race, but gay and cheerful. There were others 
who could look down from the summit of life's meridian, with 
either shore of life's ocean in view. There sat the far ad- 
vanced in age, their gray locks sprinkled thinly over their deep- 
furrowed foreheads, and their limbs bearing many a scar from 
engagements under the standards of Kamehameha I. In front 
of the pulpit sat the old ex-queen Kapule, absorbed in what 
she heard. And, as that dusky audience sat there, with the 
most profound attention to the words of their teacher, the 
ever-glorious sun gilded the sky, and land, and ocean with his 
matchless light ; and there was a continuation of that same 
ocean anthem, solemn, grand, impressive, as though it felt the 
impress of its Maker's footsteps, and had opened its many lips 
to proclaim his presence. 

At the close of that sacred day, when I sought the repose 
of my pillow, I was wakeful from the most vivid feelings. It 
was not because that Hawaiian congregation had wielded such 



MISSIONARY LABOR. 241 

a moral influence over me that I had become a proselyte — not 
that they were more moral than the people in any other part 
of the group ; but that sea-sme dilapidated house of worship, 
the solemn attention of that varied audience, and that same 
sublime ocean anthem rolled before me in quiet succession. 
Then came the grand and imposing truth : " Jehovah dwell- 
eth not in temples made with hands !" and yet I felt His pres- 
ence that day, in that old house of worship, and in that hymn 
of the restless waves. Then came the stern conviction that, 
whatever may be said of the hypocrisy of native Christians, 
they were not all insincere whom I had seen that day — no, 
not all! And, as I continued to reflect on these themes, I 
could not help wishing that I myself was a better man. 

On few topics connected with the islands has more been 
said and written than on missionary labor. It is an incon- 
trovertible truth, that it is not all a farce ! The best mode 
of testing the truth of this position is for a man to lay aside 
every preconceived opinion, and quietly traverse the hills, 
mountains, plains, and valleys, where missionary labor has 
been performed, and then form an estimate of things as he 
finds them ! He must then compare the present with the 
past of thirty years ago, with just the same sense of responsi- 
bility as though things of the mightiest moment awaited his 
decisions ; and, unless I am entirely mistaken in what consti- 
tutes an honest conscience, his conclusion will be, that such 
men as the missionary at Waimea have done much good. It 
is a self-evident fact, that, to a certain extent, the Hawaiians 
are morally and physically happier now than they were before 
the introduction of Christianity. 

There is a great proneness to fling around missionary en- 
terprise a few touches of romance and poetry, and this is 
usually done when a ship is about leaving her moorings, to 
convey a band of missionaries to a distant region of the globe. 
There is a good deal of poetry in those throbbing bosoms, and 
dewy eyes, and warm grasps of the hand, as the ship leaves 
her wharf to proceed on her way — leaving woods and mount- 
ains, literary institutions, friends and firesides, far behind, until 

L 



242 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



they seem to have sunk beneath the wave that reflects the 
pale and trembling twilight. All this, however, is perfectly 
natural, and ought not to call forth the least surprise from a 
mere looker-on. 

But the poetry which invests such scenes is of an abstract 
character, and more properly belongs to the Churches at home 
than the stations of the right kind of men abroad. I have 
seen that in the work of some missionaries on the Sandwich 
group and elsewhere, which has convinced me that the life of 
a thoroughly philanthropic Christian teacher is a stern reality. 
I found a new church in process of erection at "Waimea. For 
five long years it had been in progress, and the missionary has 
accompanied the natives to the mountains, fifteen miles dis- 
tant, to hew wood, and to the quarry, several miles over the 
plains to the westward, to procure stone. That building was 
nearly completed when I saw it, and when finished it would 
be a credit to any town in the United States. 




~(~Mi~SBKi'-£M m ™ 



AMERICAN MISSION CHURCH. 



VOLCANIC FEATURES. 343 

This fabric was only a portion of that missionary's labor ; 
but it will be his monument when the hands that have rear- 
ed it have gone back to their primitive dust, and the mind 
that designed it has gone to expand in a clime where there 
are no evening shadows. When human destiny receives its 
final seal, such an epitaph as this will be of more value than 
the thrones of Alexander and Caesar. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



FROM WAIMEA TO KOLO. 



Yoleanic Features. — Tobacco Plantations. — Wild Cotton. — Plains 
and Vegetation. — Nohili, or Sounding Sands. — Probable Theory 
of Sound. — A Kight at Kolo. — Proceedings of a Hawaiian Family. 
— Kindness to the Traveler. — Poi-making. — Evening Devotions. 
— Return to Koloa. — Departure from Kauai. — The "Middle Pas- 
sage." — A Tribute to Neptune. — Recent Steam-boat Project — Its 
Importance and Necessity. 

Beyond the village of "Waimea the traveler's path stretches 
over the plains forming the seaward portion of the district of 
Mana. These plains are twelve miles in length, and their 
average width two. Their physical character is strictly allu- 
vial. The substratum is a fine oceanic sand, mingled with 
fine coral and shells ; the upper formation is composed of de- 
cayed vegetable matter, mingled with a rich deposit of de- 
composed lava, washed down by the rains from the adjacent 
mountains. 

These plains are bounded on the north by a lofty range of 
volcanic hills, resembling, in some places, the Palisades on the 
banks of the Hudson. Upon them are superimposed rugged 
table-lands, of a gradual ascent as far as the central peaks of 
the island. These table-lands are formed by a continuation 
of layers that were originated during the periodical eruptions 
of Mauna Waialeale, This formation has evidently progress- 
ed when the sea swept over the plains stretching from Wai- 
mea to Kolo. The first strata that was formed above the sea 



244 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

circumscribed the limits of the south side of the island. The 
oceans of lava that have formed successive strata flowed on- 
ward to this prescribed limit, where they were suddenly ar- 
rested by being broken abruptly, or cooled by the atmosphere, 
thus forming an abrupt boundary or wall against which the 
waves of the sea once rolled in all their majesty and strength. 

Subsequent to these formations, they have been rent asunder 
by mighty earthquakes. As the traveler passes along at this 
day, he almost fancies that the old Hawaiian gods may have 
torn up these immense masses by their roots during their angry 
or sportive moments, and flung them about merely for recrea- 
tion. The eye rests on single, double, and triple valleys, or ra- 
vines, whose steeps it is impossible to climb, and at whose bases 
a few straggling natives have reared their rude houses. This 
wild and savage scenery extends as far as Kolo, where the 
land-travel terminates. 

About a mile west of Waimea village is the spot where the 
first English boat landed from Cook's expedition. It is op- 
posite a couple of cocoa-nut-trees, which were pointed out to 
me by the natives as the only memorial of that event. But 
on such a spot, and strictly in keeping with the surrounding 
scenery, they seemed to be the most fitting monuments. I 
first saw them at the hour of noon, when the sun was at the 
hottest, and shedding an ocean of light on the fair sand-beach. 
Regardless of the crowd of natives that surrounded me, and of 
the noon-day hour, I walked along the same shore, and bathed 
in the same clear waters that had witnessed the landing of 
the distinguished navigator seventy-five years ago ! It was 
here that the Hawaiians first saw the face of a white man ; 
here, that they looked upon him as a god. Little did Cook 
think, at that moment, that he would find a grave on the 
shores of this far-distant archipelago. 

At Waiawa, five miles west of Waimea, I met a cordial re- 
ception by some tobacco-planters, who kindly showed me over 
their estates. The planters held their lands on a lease from 
the government. They had commenced their plan of opera- 
tions on a limited capital, but success was nobly crowning 



TOBACCO PLANTATIONS. 245 

their efforts. One of them had tried experiments in the Valley 
of Hanalei, but the too frequent rains interdicted his success. 
The south side of the island is the most suitable for the cul- 
ture of tobacco. Here the plant attains a large size, and is 
of superior quality. I took the dimensions of one plant, and 
ascertained its largest leaves to be three feet long, and twenty 
inches broad. The plants were all young, of the species call- 
ed Nicotiana tabacum. 

Made up into cigars by skillful fingers, this tobacco would 
satisfy the wishes of the most fastidious connoisseur of the 
" Virginny weed." Native labor is available — for Hawaiians 
are passionately fond of smoking, and their services can be 
procured at twenty-five cents per day. Experienced men, 
having but little capital, could commence this business on this 
group, and in a short time realize a very handsome income. 
An amount of tobacco could be annually raised which would 
exceed the financial receipts for 1852— '3,* and, judiciously 
managed, it could not fail to be a source of profit to the na- 
tional treasury. 

On these plains the wild cotton-tree {Gossy'piv/m vitifoli- 
um) is found in abundance. Cotton, as well as tobacco, can 
be successfully cultivated here and on other portions of the 
group. In this region, vegetation luxuriates hi a manner un- 
surpassed by few places even in the tropics. 

At a distance of nearly six miles beyond these tobacco plan- 
tations, there is a singular phenomenon, called by the natives 
Nohili, and by foreigners the Sounding Sands. It is a mound 
of sand about a hundred feet high, located immediately on the 
sea-shore, and forms the southern point of a ridge of sand-hills 
extending in an acute angle to the terminus of the plain at 
Kolo. This ridge has been formed by the combined influence 
of the ocean on one side and the winds on the other. To test 
the truth of what report had stated, I induced two natives to 
ascend the mound. On reaching its summit, one of them 
placed himself on his chest, while the other seized his feet and 
dragged him down to the bottom. During this operation, a 

* See Appendix II. 



246 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

sound, as of distant thunder, or of the starting of heavy ma- 
chinery, was distinctly heard. It was sufficiently loud to 
startle my tired horse. After taking him away some distance 
over the plain, and securing him to a shrub, I walked back 
and tried the experiment I had seen conducted by the natives, 
and the, same result was produced. 

Such an unusual phenomenon was highly interesting, and 
induced me to linger for a time on the spot. On a micro- 
scopic examination, I found the sand to be a combination of 
small oceanic shells, and coral resembling crushed talc, but 
very hard. There was nothing in the physical conformation 
of the ridge of hills that could induce an echo, nor did the 
mound itself rest on any apparent cavernous formation. The 
wind was blowing from the south by east, and sweeping near- 
ly in a direct line along the hills. I observed that when the 
wind was rather light, the sounds emitted by the mound dur- 
ing the sliding down of the natives were proportionately light, 
and so vice versa. It seemed conclusive that the atomic 
character of the hill was such as necessarily to absorb a large 
amount of atmosphere ; that the moving of an extraneous 
body down its sides induced a rapid vibration of atmospheric 
fluid, and that the direct result was crepitation. 

Night was creeping over the face of nature when I had 
completed my explorations of this phenomenon. To return 
to Waimea that night was impossible, and the only alterna- 
tive was to stay with the first family at whose house I might 
arrive. Among the numerous urchins whom my visit at- 
tracted to the Sounding Sands, there was a young lad, who 
appeared, from some cause unknown to myself, to take no 
small degree of interest in my movements. Anticipating my 
need of a night's lodgings, he requested me to follow him. 
He mounted a horse sans saddle and every accoutrement, and 
sped away over the plain ; while his shirt — his only garment ! 
— was occasionally blown over his head by the wind. As the 
last ray of the evening twilight was merging into darkness, 
my guide halted in front of a commodious house, located in 
the extreme corner of the plain. 



KINDNESS TO THE TRAVELER. 247 

In the front of this native dwelling a huge wood fire was 
blazing. From the number of culinary utensils which were 
stationed around it, and simmering away like the enchanted cal- 
drons of the witches in " Macbeth," one might easily have con- 
cluded that the family were about giving a feast to their neigh- 
bors for miles around. Some half dozen good-natured "alo- 
has!" spoken at once, made me feel quite at home. Alighting 
from my horse, and having seen him deposited in a good pas- 
ture for the night, I entered the domicile, which was faintly 
illumined with torches of the candle-nut (Aleurites triloba). 

The arrival of an entire stranger seemed to be a signal for 
a general family convention. The smoking viands outside 
were for a moment forsaken to self-quiet, while men, women, 
and children came tumbling over each other for the purpose 
of getting a glimpse at the "haole' (foreigner). If I had not 
been previously informed that foreigners were infrequent vis- 
itors to Kolo, a mere glance would have satisfied me of the 
truth of the matter. I sat perched up on a sort of saw-bench, 
while the group crowded close around my feet, surveying my 
appearance and my every motion ; and in this position I re- 
mained for some minutes— the object of a general scrutiny. 
Squatting on their mats in a way peculiarly a la Kanaka, 
they presented a group that would have been invaluable on 
canvas. There sat two old men, who might have shared in 
the battles of Kamehameha the Great. Beside them sat 
their consorts — of suitable age, good-looking women, apparent- 
ly of iron constitution. There were several persons in the 
meridian of life, and a few others, of both sexes, varying in 
years, from the playing child to early manhood. But they 
were all one family. 

When their curiosity had somewhat abated, they proceeded 
to make their comments and indulge their witticisms at my 
expense. They asked me a variety of questions, which I an- 
swered to the best of my ability, and to their no small amuse- 
ment. At last one of the two elder women came and sat 
down close to me, passed her hand over my limbs, and then 
across my chest, and wished to know if I was " full ;" in other 



248 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

words, if I were hungry. I gave her a negative reply. In a 
short time, a calabash of wild pork immediately from the boil- 
ing caldron, a pile of hot taro, a calabash of water, and a 
huge calabash of peri, were placed before me, or rather on a 
mat on each side of my bench. My very hospitable entertain- 
ers meant well, but their food remained untasted, for the mere 
appearance of it was enough to disgust an appetite less fastidi- 
ous than mine. I had already conceived an insurmountable 
disgust of sour peri, and its sickly aspect, so semi-civilized, at 
once annihilated my voracity ; so I swallowed a draught of 
water, filled a pipe with tobacco, and began to smoke. 

A question now arose in my own mind where I should re- 
pose. There were twenty-seven persons in that family, all 
told. I saw no prospect before me but that of sharing the 
"field-bed," which I felt assured would be enjoyed by every 
member of that domicile, and it was a prospect I by no means 
coveted. But this difficulty soon vanished. Two of the men 
instantly set to work and rigged up a rude frame, over which 
they stretched an entire raw-hide. A woman then threw a 
rough mattress upon it, and several sheets of kapa (native 
cloth). While these preparations were making, I was squat- 
ting on the mat, passing my pipe from one to another until it 
had made a family tour, the youngest children excepted. 

No sooner had I sought my pillow than a space was cleared 
in the centre of the apartment, and a couple of men com- 
menced making peri. On a former page I have described the 
process, so I need not waste words in repetition. The labor 
of making it, however, could not be very light, for they were 
entirely nude excepting their malos,* and their bodies glisten- 
ed with sweat as though they had been oiled. To enliven 
their work, each man indulged in copious inhalations of their 
lighted pipes. An old woman sat on one side of the tray, and 
a naked child on the other, picking up the pieces of boiled taro 
that were scattered by the stone £>ctt-mallets ; these were put 
back to be pounded up with the general batch of food, which 
was a compound of sweat, tobacco smoke, and dust, scraps of 
* A narrow girdle crossed round the loins. 





h 





(a) Calabash for poi. (d d) Poi mallets. 

(b) Calabash for fish. (e) Poi trough. 

(c) Water bottle. (/) Native bracelet. 

(#, h f i i) Fiddle, flute, and drums. 

L2 



'/ 



EVENING DEVOTIONS. 35^ 



taro that had been recovered from the dirty mat, and sundry 
other unmentionables. If this meagre description has been 
sufficiently graphic for the reader's comprehension, I trust he 
will pardon my decided abhorrence of poi, and think none the 
less of Hawaiian domesticity when I assure him that it is the 
staff of life to the Sandwich Islanders ! 

The sound of the ^x^-mallets, and coming to the conclusion 
that I was more than ever opposed to the article in question, 
lulled me to sleep. But the voice of singing at length awoke 
me. At first I supposed I was in the land of dreams ; but a 
continuation of the sounds reassured me. Partially raising 
myself on one elbow, I soon saw that the family had formed 
a circle, and were engaged in family devotions. They were 
singing Heber's magnificent " Missionary Hymn," commenc- 
ing with the words 

" From Greenland's icy mountains." 

At such a time, in such a place, under such circumstances, I 
frankly admit I was much astonished. Their song of praise 
was concluded, and the patriarch of the family, with hair as 
white as the snows of winter, and with a face heavily scarred 
by wounds received in youthful struggles on the field of battle, 
knelt down in the centre of the group to pray. I shall never 
forget his upturned and solemn countenance, his pathetic invo^ 
cation — " E Iehovah !" so strictly Hawaiian in its character, 
and offered up to the true God. I shall never forget the as^ 
pect of that bending and devotional family. At this moment 
I feel an irresistible impulse to record the sum of my impres- 
sions created that night by that scene 

Had I been a disputant against the divinity of Christianity, 
that scene and its associations, so simple, unlooked for, and 
sublime, would have put upon my lips the seal of perpetual 
silence. To that family I was totally a stranger, and they 
were equally strangers to me. The only thing they felt solic- 
itous about was to have me as comfortably lodged as possible. 
They knew not that I was not soundly asleep ; therefore, in 
this instance at least, they affected no disguise of their moral 
sentiments. That act of devotion was the spontaneous gush- 



252 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ing forth of feelings at once sacred and grand, for they he- 
longed to God ; and that family group only gave what was 
justly due to the universal Parent of Good. 

It is not the only instance of the kind that I have seen on 
the Sandwich Islands. To a wide extent, the Hawaiians are 
charged with hypocrisy, and, to a wide extent, that charge is 
just ; hut I envy not the feelings of that man who can find 
no good among them. Of the many who have quietly wor- 
shiped their Maker, and gone to the grave, and heen received 
up on high, the day of judgment will hest decide. Think on 
it, ye misanthropes ! and ye who never hend your knee, only 
in a cushioned slip, heneath gorgeous domes, that serve only to 
mock the search of the soul after heaven's Monarch ! 

I arose next morning with the gray dawn, refreshed with a 
night's sound repose, and took a final leave of that family. 

On returning to Koloa, I was storm-stayed several days. 
At length the skies again hecame clear, and the ocean re- 
sumed its calm, azure smile. I engaged a passage in the 
schooner " Chance," Spunyarn, master, and left a sincere fare- 
well to the Island of Kauai. 

The inter-island navigation at the Sandwich Islands is ut- 
terly repulsive, the only mode of transit heing by small schoon- 
ers, owned chiefly by natives. Those who have never made 
one of these passages can form no conception of their loath- 
some character, and they who have gone through the ordeal 
have bestowed upon it the very expressive appellation of the 
" middle passage." A foreigner takes up his abode in a very 
diminutive place below deck, dignified by the title of cabin. 
In a short time, however, the effluvia of bilge water, and a 
few inexpressibles, compels him to take refuge on deck. This 
step is certain to cause discontent among the native passen- 
gers, and they are usually very numerous ; for, although they 
pay but a fifth of the passage-money paid by a foreigner, and 
are found in provisions, too, at that, they lay a stern claim to 
the whole of the decks, fore and aft. It is not at all uncom- 
mon for them to gorge themselves with fish and poi before 
starting. (I really beg the reader's pardon for the very fre- 



THE "MIDDLE PASSAGE." 353 

quent use of the word poi> but it is impossible to avoid it in 
the course of these pages.) Shortly after the schooner leaves 
her moorings, such scenes occur as baffle all attempts at graph- 
ic description. There are women and girls, men and boys, 
dogs, pigs, calabashes filled with their favorite food, and ev- 
ery variety of bedding, together with bundles of tobacco and 
tobacco-pipes, huddled all together in the most indescribable 
confusion. At such a moment, every human animal on board 
may be paying Neptune a heavy tribute — in other words, they 
may be horribly " sea-sick," and dogs and pigs will wallow in 
the flood of disgorged pai like ducks in mud. - A foreigner 
may have doubled the stormy Cape Horn, or made a passage 
across the Polar Seas, and behaved like a good son of the ocean ; 
but here he is compelled to yield. Surrounded by twenty to 
sixty Hawaiians, ejecting with a vengeance the contents of 
gorged systems, it is in vain he endeavors to avert his gaze or 
repress his emotions. Once more he retires to his cabin, but 
his emotions and sympathies obtain the mastery, and once 
more he returns to the deck, again to meet with the disgust- 
ing scenes he has just sought to avoid. Alas for the acoustic 
and olfactory organs ! He struggles with all his manly forti- 
tude, and resolves and re-resolves he will not yield to the de- 
testable sympathy. But just as he supposes he is gaining the 
conquest, his senses are again accosted by the sounds of such 
throes as almost indicate a separation of souls from bodies, 
and he is compelled reluctantly to lay aside his modesty by 
becoming the sickest mortal in the group. 

Night draws her curtain over the ocean. The foreigner is 
on deck. Wedged in between — two women, perhaps ! he is 
glad to forget his privations in sleep, if he can procure it. He 
is just on the imaginate wing to some loved and lovely old 
scene ; or, perchance, a " change comes over the spirit of his 
dreams," and a sweet face, beaming with an unearthly beauty, 
comes peering in upon him, when, lo ! the scaly shin of some 
diseased Kanaka is wiped across his lips, or a pig, ever hungry, 
capsizes a mess of sour poi over him, and then he himself 
walks over. 



254 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

Night wears away, and the welcome daylight lifts up the 
eyelids of the sleepers. The foreigner may probably go to his 
cabin to procure something as an antidote against his increas- 
ing squeamishness. He opens his basket, which some lady- 
foreigner filled with nice little delicacies for him during his 
passage, but, alas ! a perfect blank stares him in the face ; for 
some dainty native has gone down in the night and stowed 
every thing away in his own capacious system. Lest the 
reader may deem me too imaginative, I will merely say, 

" Fate draw the curtain ; I can do no more." 

And yet, for thirty years, the wives of foreigners have been 
compelled to subserve an inter-island transit so utterly repul- 
sive.^ 

"With a view to obviate these difficulties, attempts were 
made on the 30th of March, 1853, to organize a joint-stock 
company, with a capital of $50,000, in shares of $500 each. 
It was designed to procure a small steam-boat on the " Er- 
icsson' ! plan. A list of subscribers was made out, and one 
or two of the subscriptions were taken up ; but, owing to the 
state of the money market, and a want of confidence in gov- 
ernmental protection, the project became a total failure. 

The mere effort to achieve such an object was in itself 
noble and commendable. Such a step is absolutely necessary 
and important ; but it can never be successfully put into op- 
eration until the " stars and stripes" float over the group, and 
their commercial system is revolutionized by a truly liberal 
system. 

* Since these pages have been in the press, information has been 
received from the islands that this extremely uncomfortable mode 
of inter-island navigation is about coming to a close. The steamer 
"S. B. Wheeler," from the coast of California, has arrived at the 
islands for the purpose of plying between them. The Hawaiian 
government has granted the steam company the exclusive privilege, 
for five years, of establishing steam communication between the 
islands of the group, and has agreed to admit coal, machinery, and 
other materials for the use of the company duty free. 



DEVOTIONS OF A HAWAIIAN CREW. 355 



CHAPTER XX. 

ISLAND OF MOLOKAI. 
FROM HONOLULU TO KALUAAHA. 

Devotions of a Native Crew. — Fondness for Tobacco. — Despotic Stric- 
tures. — Convenience of Native Habits in Traveling. — Kaluaaha 
Mission Station. — Civilization. — Sewing Circles. — Female Cos- 
tume. — System of Education. — Schools. — Influence of, Christianity. 
— How it is valued. — A Hawaiian Feast. — A Hawaiian Marriage. 
— Loves of the Hawaiians. — Instance of. 

The sun was about to dip in the western wave as the Ku- 
lumanu left her wharf at Honolulu for the island of Maui. 
She was crowded with passengers, whose destinations were 
various portions of the Windward Islands. The seas were 
calm, the winds light. The schooner glided along so smooth- 
ly, that for a time it seemed as though we were propelled by 
a magical influence. We had passed the outer reef, and were 
just gliding into the ocean breeze, when the owner of the 
schooner — John Ii, a distinguished chief — who had accom- 
panied us, took off his hat, and, in a fervent and impressive 
prayer, commended us to the God of the ocean, and went 
ashore. 

This was the prelude to the devotional exercises of the crew. 
That evening, and the next morning, and the subsequent even- 
ing, these exercises were faithfully and solemnly performed. 
In former days they would have worshiped their ocean deity, 
as the Romans venerated Neptune. A tribute of homage to 
the Almighty, when performed on the ocean by the mariner, 
is always impressive and appropriate ; but when paid by a 
crew of Hawaiian sailors, who are always joined by the native 
passengers, it speaks directly to the sensibilities of any foreign- 
er who may be present, and produces an impression not easily 
forgotten. # 

If there is much to annoy, during an inter-island passage 



256 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



on a native schooner, there is also much to amuse a foreigner. 
As in the United States, or any other civilized country, a vehi- 
cle of any kind is the chief place for the development of char- 
acter, so on board a Hawaiian schooner, a traveler finds a 
capital opportunity to study the traits of the Hawaiian. How- 
ever sea-sick the tourist may be, these traits are so peculiar 
and prominent, that he can not fail to notice them. The 
Hawaiian has a greater fondness for tobacco than the North 
American Indian, and it is on the deck of one of these schoon- 
ers that this fondness most strongly displays itself. A native 
would as easily forget to take himself on board as forget his 
little bag of tobacco. In many instances, he loves his tobacco 
better than he loves his wife ; and so it is in regard to the 
wife toward her husband. After refreshing themselves when 
going aboard their schooners, the first thing is to get out their 
bags of tobacco, containing also their pipes, flint, steel, and 
tinder-boxes. The tobacco is cut and rubbed finely, and the 
pipes are filled and lighted. The girls share the pipes smoked 
by the women, the boys those used by the men. Sometimes 
there is a general family smoke, and one pipe makes a tour 
of the entire group of passengers— the foreigner included, if he 
wishes. It is certainly one of the most comical scenes in the 
world to witness a young girl (of semi-Greek features, with 
glossy raven hair and eyebrows, and lids fringed with the 
same kind of material) take one of those huge wooden pipes 




NATIVE PIPE. 



NATIVE NECKLACE. 



FONDNESS FOR TOBACCO. 257 



in her mouth, and inhale the smoke until her cheeks are dis- 
tended as though they would burst, and, after retaining it 
there several seconds, puff it out in a perfect cloud. It tends 
to fling a shadow over their romance and beauty. What a 
native most wants the first thing in a morning, and the last 
thing at night, is his pipe. It would be almost impossible to 
recount the number of times the pipe is used by the same per- 
son in a single day ; and every time he wakes up at night he 
fills and smokes his pipe. One is forced to conclude that both 
men and women retire to refresh their memories by dreaming 
of the " weed" and its " vapors." It is their food when hun- 
gry, and their consolation when full. It is their antidote in 
affliction, and especially in sea-sickness ; and the more severe 
this horrible feeling becomes, the more eagerly the pipe is 
sought after. A physician, long a resident on the group, 
thus describes this native propensity : 

" The use of tobacco has evidently a deleterious influence 
on the natives, whatever may be its effects on others. In 
smoking, the natives do not sit down deliberately, and finish a 
cigar or pipe, but take one or two quiffs, inhaling the full 
volume of smoke directly into the lungs, and retain it there 
as long as the breath can well be retained. Individuals have 
been killed by its effects, and how much disease may have 
been induced or exacerbated thereby remains to be ascer- 
tained."* 

This inveterate love for tobacco has given rise to the most 
despotic restrictions on the part of a few of the missionaries. 
Several of the churches are organized on the <mta-tobacco prin- 
ciple, and the luckless wight who happens to violate his 
pledge — or, I had rather say, who is caught breaking it — is 
certain to be excommunicated for his sin(?). This is espe- 
cially the case with the Church at Lahaina, on Maui. By 
some of the missionaries it is thought to lead to the vice of 
licentiousness. The mode in which some of the native wom- 
en are said to procure private gratifications is certainly novel. 
Missionary testimony says : " They are not ' keepers at home,' 
* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., p. 263. 



258 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

but, wandering about, fall into the society of the profligate, 
and, as is often the case, become tempters of .others. Smok- 
ing tobacco leads, in multitudes of cases, to the commission 
of this sin. Many a female has risen at midnight, filled her 
pipe, and gone in the darkness to some neighbor to procure a 
light, when she has fallen into sin." # Under such circum- 
stances, they are, of course, expelled. 

But the wisdom of expulsion is exceedingly questionable. 
The restrictions placed on smokers are both unwise and des- 
potic. Every where over the group the natives smoke. It 
is amusing to see how carefully a Church member of Lahaina 
puts away his " smoking tackle" when he goes ashore from a 
schooner. So long as the natives are fond of mimicking for- 
eigners, just so long they will smoke. The foreign population 
very generally smoke. A number of ex-missionaries, and a 
few regular missionaries, chew the " filthy and destructive 
weed." Numbers of the members of the " Bethel," and of 
the " Foreign Church" in Honolulu, smoke in the public 
streets, and in the presence of the natives. To excommuni- 
cate Hawaiians for smoking is, therefore, " straining at a 
gnat and swallowing a camel." 

But the despotic restriction not only creates a more intense 
desire for the forbidden article, but it leads directly to false- 
hood. A striking instance was related to me by Mr. Parker, 
missionary at Kaneohe, on Oahu. During one of his pastoral 
visits, he entered a house in which he found a woman and her 
little daughter, and a large cloud of tobacco smoke. His first 
question was, 

" Who has been smoking ?" 

Reply : " No one." 

" But there has, for I can see it." 

He was mistaken ; no one had been smoking. 

" But I can smell it." 

Again he labored under a mistake ; it was only the smoke 
from a wood-fire which had just been put out. 

This was more than Mr. Parker could endure. With the 
* See "Answers to Questions," p. 31. 



NATIVE HABITS IN TRAVELING. 259 

toe of his boot, he removed the yet smoking pipe, which was 
just visible under the woman's drapery as she sat down on 
the mat. Being fairly caught, she owned her fault, and con- 
fessed her sorrow for smoking. Mr. Parker, on leaving that 
domicile, examined the prohibitory law and its tendencies, and 
he came to the very sensible conclusion that, for using tobacco, 
he would not expel another member from his church. 

However singular native habits may appear, they are cer- 
tainly very convenient in traveling. Nothing can be more 
simple than their mode of dietetics. They nearly always eat 
and drink their food in a cold state ; so that while a foreigner 
may be waiting two or three hours for the cooking of a few 
sundries, in a few minutes the natives have made a hearty 
meal of poi> fish, water-melons, and water. Such a course, 
however, leads to a very beneficial result. 

" The fine rows of teeth possessed by the natives will attract 
the notice of every stranger. The oldest inhabitants have gen- 
erally their teeth in perfect order, except such as they have 
knocked out from time to time, on occasions of the death of 
chiefs or their friends. The reasons are obvious : they make 
no use of acids or other substances which tend to effect rapidly 
the destruction of the enamel ; they are free from those dis- 
eases of the stomach and of the nervous system which operate 
most actively in producing carious teeth ; and they rarely eat 
their food while hot, and the water which they drink is usually 
no colder than that of our rivers during the heat of summer." 

A passage of thirty-six hours among these smokers and sw- 
eaters was brought to a close by arriving at Lahaina. The 
little sloop Sarah, of seven tuns register, was in port ; and as 
she was about returning to Molokai, I concluded to visit that 
island first. 

Three hours' sailing brought us to an anchor on the coral 
reef, off the Mission Station at Kaluaaha. The " Sarah's" very 
small boat conveyed me to the rugged wall of a huge fish- 
pond, along which I walked until I fairly landed on the beach. 

I had noticed several places on Oahu and Kauai — the latter 
island especially — where the appearance of a foreigner excited 



260 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

an intense curiosity. But I had yet seen nothing which com- 
pared with the curiosity displayed among the natives on my 
arrival at this station. Women, who had seen me at a dis- 
tance, came to meet me with children in their arms, as though 
I had shared in the introduction of the latter into this sinful 
world. There were crowds of older children, who, getting into 
each others' way, turned a variety of gyrations one over the 
other, in their eagerness to catch a glimpse of the " haole" 
(foreigner). That crowd of urchins followed me up as though 
my very shadow imparted a healing influence to disease. And 
when I got fairly into the residence of Mr. D wight — a very 
gentlemanly Christian teacher — the door was besieged in such 
a way that I feared some of their limbs would share some dis- 
aster in their struggles to get the foremost standing-place, 
where they might gaze their fill at myself. This crowding 
continued until I requested the missionary to order them away, 
when he informed me that, as few foreigners ever came to the 
island, they were usually objects of great curiosity. 

Kaluaaha is the only regular station on Molokai. It is but 
sparsely inhabited. As it is approached from the sea, it has 
an appearance highly picturesque. The mountains in the 
rear are much rent by deep ravines, but their cloud-capped 
summits are covered with foliage. It is extremely difficult 
for a tourist to divest his mind of the impression that those 
clouded heights are the abode of the discarded deities once 
worshiped by the people. 

My stay at this station, and my subsequent tour over the 
island, induced the belief that civilization has bestowed some 
benefits on the people, but more especially on those residing 
in the region of the mission. It is a civilization based, not on 
Christianity only, but on personal employment and activity ; 
and a unity of ethics with practical actions is the only legiti- 
mate mode of elevating savage mind, or of sustaining civilized 
institutions. 

Civilization is best tested by its results. One of these tests 
was the school of Hawaiian youth, of both sexes, under the 
care of Mr. D wight. There was a class of girls in that school 



SEWING. CLASSES. 261 

who had been organized by himself ! into a sewing class. It 
was the first time in my life — and it may be the last — that I 
saw a class of girls whose sewing occupations were under the 
supervision of a gentleman ! But Mr. D wight was a Yankee ! 
and a Yankee can turn his attention to any tiling, for he cer- 
tainly is the most remarkable specimen of the genus homo 
that has ever helped to compose the family of man. Aside 
from Mr. Dwight's Yankeeism, he combined the sterling qual- 
ities of a gentleman with the deep and eloquent sympathies 
of a refined Christian woman. He loved those girls, and, in 
return, they loved him. It was a love such as is -reciprocated 
by father and child. He was their physician when sick, their 
friend and adviser in health. There were not wanting those, 
however, among his own " brethren," who rather felt inclined 
to stigmatize his celibacy — for he was a bachelor. 

But to return to this sewing class. Mr. Dwight had taught 
his school-girls to sew, and their work would have honored 
the instructions of the most punctilious woman. They cut 
and made up sundry unmentionables for gentlemen, besides 
cutting and making all their own drapery. The articles they 
manufactured for gentlemen were sold in stores. In several 
instances they have commanded a ready and lucrative sale at 
the agricultural fairs in Honolulu, where they would favora- 
bly compare with the needle- work of the foreign belle, upon 
whose education years of time and purses of money had been 
expended. But they had some inducement to be industri- 
ous. For an article which would sell for two dollars, the 
maker of it would receive a compensation of seventy-five cents, 
and so on in a regular ratio. With the avails of their own 
labor they furnished their own wardrobes, which were highly 
creditable. That class of sewing-girls numbered about thirty ; 
and they never met or dispersed in their usual capacity with- 
out singing a hymn and invoking the blessing and protection 
of Heaven. 

I have spoken of female costumes, and I can not dismiss 
the theme without a brief remark or two. In no item of civ- 
ilization have the natives — the females especially — made more 



262 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

advancement than in this. When civilized habits first dawn- 
ed upon them, their personal appearance was the most eccen- 
tric that can well be imagined. In coming to church on a 
Sunday, one man would come clad in nothing but a coat but- 
toned up on his back instead of in front. The entire ward- 
robe of a second would be a ragged cravat, and a single strip 
of native cloth crossed over his loins, called a malo; that of a 
third, the malo, and a pair of high boots ; that of a fourth, 
the malo, and a tattered palm-leaf hat that might have served 
some foreigner nearly a score of years .; that of a fifth, a shirt, 
with a collar reaching his eyes and half way up the back of 
his head, and the malo. The catalogue might be pursued to 
any length, and it would stagger the faith of many a reader ; 
but these were among some of the comical scenes which irre- 
sistibly drew smiles from the lips of their early teachers. 

But they have improved since then. The costume of the 
females was, to my own mind, a convincing comment on the 
certainty of a great transformation. Many of those school- 
girls were on the verge of womanhood. Their drapery sat 
easily on them, and displayed forms which would have excit- 
ed the envy of many a city belle. More than once did I see 
them arrayed in their best, with their heads handsomely dec- 
orated with wreaths formed, by their own fingers, from the 
beautiful flowers of the native hala, or screw pine ( Tectorius 
et odoratissimus), and their appearance was exceedingly fas- 
cinating, rather verging to the coquettish. Their beautiful de- 
velopment was the work of Nature, unassisted by the imposi- 
tions of every-day fashions, and their toilet was the result of 
their own easy and honest industry. Think of the former, ye 
slaves to Fashion ! and learn to be more true to Nature. And 
think of the latter, ye slaves to Avarice ! whose wealth may 
be earned in part by needle-women, whose cheeks are pale and 
emaciated by fatigue over the midnight lamp, and by the pangs 
of the same hunger which is gnawing the very vitals of their 
children — who toil on, and weep and hunger on, to earn your 
stinted pittance, until the angel of Death breaks the accursed 
fetter which binds them to your slavery ! 



E D U C A T I O N— S C H O O L S. £g3 

The system of education pursued by Mr. Dwight is design- 
ed and calculated to be of permanent value to the scholars. 
Their studies are conducted mainly in Hawaiian. The course 
embraces reading, writing, algebra, geography, universal his- 
tory, vocal music, drawing, mental and moral science, elocu- 
tion, and composition. Four hours each day are devoted to 
English studies — chiefly reading and spelling. In these exer- 
cises, both males and females equally participate. In addi- 
tion to all, there is a system of manual labor for the elder of 
the male scholars, which to themselves is a source of pecuni- 
ary gain and of great physical benefit. The number of schol- 
ars averaged a hundred, and their proficiency was truly sur- 
prising. At the time of my visit, this school had been in ex- 
istence but a single year ! 

Many of the scholars would read English fluently, but speak- 
ing it was rather difficult. It was intensely amusing to hear 
them salute, mornings and evenings, during my stay at the sta- 
tion. In the morning they invariably said, "Dood-e night/" 
and in the evening, the usual salutation was "Dood-e morn- 
in /" I was willing to make every allowance, for I have 
reason to believe that many of the Hawaiian words that I tried 
to use were just as absurd to themselves, so our mirth met 
with a reciprocity. 

The Government School at this station was in a thriving 
condition, and contained a hundred and sixty scholars. 

There was a flourishing Sabbath school of three to four 
hundred children, neatly clad and looking happy. 

The total number of schools on the island was sixteen ; the 
number of scholars, eight hundred and ten. These were sus- 
tained at a cost to the government, during the previous year, 
of $1197 48. 

For the people of Kaluaaha and other portions of Molokai, 
Christianity has done a great deal, for to its influence, sec- 
onded by practical and social habits of industry, they owe 
whatever they possess of a change for the better. It has sev- 
eral times been asserted that the inhabitants of this island, be- 
cause rather isolated, are more moral than those on the other 



264 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

portions of the group ; but I waive all notice of this assertion 
for the present. I have already spoken of the moral heroism, 
the unearthly beauty, the perfect happiness which poetry and 
romance have thrown around these " children of Nature," 
when they were excluded from the light of revelation. In 
such instances, the bright side — far, indeed, too fabulous — has 
occupied the gaze of the mere sentimentalist. They forgot to 
delineate their deeds of blood, and the desertion of the aged, 
and infirm, and the dying by unnatural children, and of chil- 
dren by unnatural parents. They did not portray the hellish 
horror which brooded over altars stained by the blood of hu- 
man victims immolated to the gods by the red right hand of 
a pagan hierarchy. But their omission renders their past ex- 
istence none the less a truth. And it is from these acts, so 
dark, sanguinary, and relentless — from the undeflnable dark- 
ness of the pagan's grave and the pagan's eternity, that this 
people have been rescued. 

And how, it may be asked, do they appreciate the change ? 
They are not clad with the " pomp and circumstance" of those 
to whom Fortune has been most lavish of her favors, nor are 
they as highly gifted as millions who are blessed with the civ- 
ilization which philosophy and refinement have hereditarily 
bestowed. But, feeling conscious that the genius of the Bible 
nobly advocates the civil and spiritual freedom of the whole 
family of man, they have acted out their impulses and convic- 
tions by showing their liberality to that best and most sacred 
of all causes — a republican Christianity. It is not for me to 
judge of the motive which prompts a disposition of a sacred 
gift on the altar of the soul's freedom ; but it may safely be 
asserted that, in view of their extent of worldly wealth, no 
community on earth has ever done more for the cause of Chris- 
tianity than the Christianized natives of Molokai. A careful 
examination of their ecclesiastical records proved to me that, 
from 1847 to 1853 inclusive, they had contributed in cash 
$1389 63 to missionary operations in other portions of the 
Pacific ; and they had cheerfully subscribed the sum of 
$3458 08, during a period of, years ranging from 1845 to 



A HAWAIIAN FEAST. 265 

1852, for the support of the resident missionary at Kalua- 
aha. 

The Hawaiians are peculiarly patriarchal in many of their 
habits. They cherish a particular fondness for visiting and 
company, and are always glad to see a friend. When any lit- 
tle circumstance occurs to try personal friendship or courage, 
or when a few persons have been exposed to a heavy tribula- 
tion, a feast is the almost certain result. While at Kaluaaha, 
I witnessed one of these convivial gatherings. It had its ori- 
gin in a storm at sea. During a recent trip of the sloop " Sa- 
rah," and when the parties in question were on board, making 
a passage from Honolulu to Molokai, a terrible gale arose. 
The little craft labored to keep on her way, and her Hawaiian 
captain exerted all his ingenuity to effect the passage, but in 
vahi. To escape being ingulfed, it was deemed advisable to 
put back to Honolulu. To cheer their hopes and relieve the 
anguish of disappointment, the captain made a solemn prom- 
ise that, if they should live to return to Molokai, he would give 
them a " feast." 

After having been detained a day or two at Honolulu, the 
sloop again put to sea. Favorable breezes soon wafted them 
to Molokai. A day was appointed for their social meeting, 
but its arrival witnessed clouds and storm. The feast was ad- 
journed until the first fine day. Once more disappointed, the 
crowd dispersed to console themselves with a trial of patience. 

At length the long-wished-for day arrived. The sun rose 
in a cloudless sky. From plains, valleys, and across the cloud- 
capped mountains, the guests made their appearance, and were 
gladly welcomed by their host and his better half. It was 
soon discovered that the host's domicile was too small for their 
accommodation, for five times the original number had arrived. 
To remedy this inconvenience, an awning was spread over the 
smooth grass. Clean mats were laid. Sundry articles of ta- 
ble-service were then distributed over them. Under each plate 
was laid one or two leaves of the ti plant (Draccena termi- 
nalis). Several huge dishes and calabashes, containing the 
repast, occupied the remaining space. 

M 



266 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

The company, clad in their best apparel, took their station 
round the viands. The captain proceeded to invoke the Al- 
mighty's blessing. The last accent of the "Amenk" had not 
fallen from his lips, when such a clatter of dishes, et cetera, 
commenced as effectually baffled all approach of ceremony, 
and the host's bounty was most mercilessly attacked. Pigs, 
turkeys, chickens, and fish had been compelled to yield up their 
frail lives, so as to be permitted to honor that feast with their 
presence. Besides these substantiate, there were pai, sweet 
potatoes, baked and boiled, in abundance ; and their drink was 
the pure cold water, which had just flowed down from the 
summits of the lofty mountains. 

There was not one in the company who appeared to possess 
a knife, fork, or spoon ; so they were compelled to employ their 
fingers ! — Adam and Eve's plan, undoubtedly. All squatted 
down a la Turk, and disposed of their refreshments a la Ha- 
waiian. It really did me good to see with what eagerness 
they attacked their food. There was no fastidious delicacy, no 
studied formality, such as sometimes clog the sociability at the 
patrician's table. They cared not for the glance and the pres- 
ence of the stranger, but kindly invited him to share their re- 
past. While surveying that scene, I almost concluded that, 
if Nature had not made me white, Hawaiian simplicity would 
have suited me very well. One or two of the most amusing 
features in that feast were, it took place at 10 A.M., and lasted 
fifteen minutes ! when the company dispersed for their homes. 

Before leaving this station, I witnessed the novel scene of a 
Hawaiian marriage. The sun was setting in all that quiet 
splendor peculiar to the tropics, as a couple walked into Mr. 
D wight's yard, and interrupted our conversation by requesting 
him to unite them in the holy bonds of matrimony. They 
had walked that day from the other side of the mountain — a 
distance of nearly thirty miles ; and under such circumstances, 
there was a two-fold claim on his official power. The couple 
were of a respectable size, and ranged in their respective ages 
from twenty to twenty-five years. In a few seconds the in- 
telligence was communicated that a wedding was about to 



LOVES OF THE HAWAIIAN S. 267 

take place. A number of the school-girls gathered at the 
scene of operations. The moment arrived when the betrothed 
were to be linked for life in the destinies of the hymeneal 
chain. The officiator had obtained a quiet response to every 
question he had proposed to the man. It was now the wom- 
an's turn to submit to interrogations. But before the mission- 
ary could reach the end of either of his questions, so anxious 
was she to assert her obedience to her newly-espoused lord, 
and also to end the ceremonies, that she rapidly and emphat- 
ically enunciated " ae, ae" (yes, yes). In the midst and at 
the end of every sentence he uttered, the emphatic "yes!" 
rolled from her lips in such a manner as to indicate her own 
sincerity of expression, and also to excite the most irresistible 
mirthfulness among those laughter-loving girls. 

This unique ceremony at last ended, and the neivly united 
in mind, soul, and body, went away smiling like the sun after 
an April shower, being apparently satisfied with themselves, 
the world at large, and the ceremony just performed ; nor 
have I a single doubt that the missionary was equally re- 
lieved, for the very moment they had disappeared, his patient 
endurance found vent in a loud outburst of laughter, w T hich 
was echoed by all present. I, too, was relieved ; for it need- 
ed but a single glance to assure one that the female, at least, 
had for some time past been married, and that Nature had 
acted as priest in the ceremonies. Her public union was, 
therefore, a very necessary consummation, for it saved her 
from fines, hard labor, and imprisonment. 

These very necessary unions are by no means uncommon 
among the Hawaiians ; nor can it be questioned that they 
have their origin in the fervent eloquence of their " loves," 
which flow rather from Nature's dictates than the voice of 
reason. They are the offspring of passion rather than the 
high and holy inculcations of susceptible spirits. But, after 
all, they w T ill favorably compare with the deeds of fabled he- 
roes, with which our modern school-boys are supposed to ren- 
der themselves familiar at an early age. 

The loves of the Hawaiians are usually ephemeral. It is 



268 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

fabled of Abelard, that after he had been dead twenty years, 
he opened his arms to embrace his beloved Heloise when 
she was lowered into his grave. But few such instances of 
undying affection can be fabled of the Sandwich Islanders. 
The widow seldom or never plants a solitary flower over the 
grave of her lord. She may once visit the mound that marks 
the repose of his ashes, but never again unless by accident. 
It not unfrequently happens that a second husband is selected 
while the remains of the first are conveyed to his " long 
home." 

There are instances, however, of a singular constancy of af- 
fection. One of these occurred some years since on the island 
of Kauai. 

A beautiful young Hawaiian girl was attached to a noble 
and warlike youth. In childhood, and up to manhood, they 
had played, conversed, and rambled together, until their very 
souls seemed to form a unity that was inseparable. They 
were about to consummate their external union, when events 
called him away to sea. Three long, dreary years crept past, 
and the young adventurer was looked upon as dead.. But his 
affianced hoped against hope, until news was actually brought 
that the schooner in which her lover had sailed was lost in 
one of the distant archipelagoes in the South Pacific. 

At- this fatal moment, hope closed her broad pinions, and 
the icy hand of despair was laid on the bosom of Liliha, until 
her very soul sickened, and reason forsook its throne. Morn- 
ing, and noon, and evening, she wandered the shore he last 
touched with his feet. The burden of her complaint was, 
" Alas for you, my Lunalilo ! Where hast thou gone, my 
soul, my light ? Long has been thy journey toward the golden 
gates of the western wave. Let us die together, Lunalilo ! 
Come back to me, my love, on the golden wing of the morn- 
ing twilight ! I will go to the western wave, and there I will 
cling to thee, Lunalilo !" 

For two years Liliha was thus disconsolate. Reason was 
again restored to its empire, and she was compelled by her 
friends to marry. The couple lived together until a lovely in- 



SEA- SHORE ROAD. 359 

fant crowned their union. When she could again tread the 
cocoa-nut grove on the sea-shore, with her child in her arms, 
a schooner hove in sight, and soon dropped its anchor in the 
bay. With an agony of suspense, she stood there, as if trans- 
fixed, watching a small boat that came bounding over the 
waves. An oarsman, pale with impatience, came up the 
beach, took one glance, and folded her in his bosom. 

That night a certain couch was vacated and a certain ad- 
venturer was missing. The prophetic dirge of Liliha was 
fulfilled : "I will go to the western wave, and there I will 
cling to thee, Lunalilo !" 



CHAPTER XXL 

JOURNEY TO HALAWA. 

Sea-shore Road. — Bullock-riding. — Fondness for Horses. — An In- 
stance of. — Mode of Fishing. — A Hawaiian " Venus." — Scarcity of 
Singing Birds. — Solitude of the Mountains. — Noble Ku-kui Grove. 
— Halawa Valley. — Descent. — Cascades. — The Valley at Sunset. 
— Cultivation of Taro. — Kindness of a Hawaiian Family. — An 
Evening Repast. — Fastidiousness of a Native Cook. — A Night at 
Halawa. — Kapa Sheets. — Manufacture of Kapcu — Population. — 
Religion. — Morals. 

In the roads leading along the south shores of the Sandwich 
Islands there is much sameness of general character ; but 
that leading from Kaluaaha to the romantic valley of Halawa 
was diversified more by incident than scenery. 

Occasionally the traveler's eye rests on the ruined walls in-* 
closing immense fish-ponds that were formed several genera* 
tions past. Here he passes a solitary dwelling that indicates 
the last extreme of poverty and discomfort. Yonder is a small 
village bearing precisely the same aspect, and yet its tenants 
seem perfectly happy. Now the path leads along the edge 
of the beach, and the horse's feet are wet with the white surf 
which breaks in thunder-tones upon the shore. 

The Sandwich Islanders cherish a strong propensity foi 



270 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

equestrian feats. Any species of the quadruped, strong enough 
to carry them, serves their purpose. On my way to Halawa 
I was not a little amused at seeing a specimen of bullock- 
riding by two or three native lads. Their riders were clad 
simply in the suit which Nature had bountifully bestowed 
upon them. They had very ingeniously secured bridles in the 
mouths of these comical-looking steeds. With eyes bright with 
excitement, and their shaggy hair streaming in the wind, those 
young urchins sped on with inconceivable delight. Occasion- 
ally they would dismount and keep pace on foot with their 
animals by rumiing alongside, and then, with all the dexterity 
of circus-riders, they would spring on their backs, goading and 
inciting them to a greater speed, until they were foaming at 
the mouth with rage. It is a current phrase, " Place a beg- 
gar on a horse, and he will ride to ." Philanthropy for- 
bids the harsh conclusion, and I may as well omit it. But, 
put a Kanaka on a horse, or a bullock either, and there is no 
deciding to what place he will not ride. 

The fondness of the Hawaiians for horses is proverbial. 
"With them it may be denominated the ruling passion. Give 
a Hawaiian a pretty wife and a first-rate horse, and, as a gen- 
eral thing, his earthly happiness is completed. Give him 
these — the horse especially — and you could not fascinate him 
with the rivers of wine, and milk, and honey ; the couches of 
silk, the undying fountains, the unfading fruits, the immortal 
beauty of the " houri" the pavilions of pearls promised by the 
Koran to the faithful warriors and followers of the Prophet 
and Allah. This fondness for the horse is displayed, not in 
a generous care of him, so much as in wearing him out by fu- 
rious and frequent riding. Their mode of riding over hills 
and plains, and through valleys and ravines, entirely eclipses 
the immortal " Gilpin." Sometimes you may see a Hawaii- 
an horseman dashing along the very brink of a ravine hun- 
dreds of feet high, where a single false step would send both 
horse and rider into the jaws of certain destruction. 

The best horse in the world would last one of those island- 
ers but a short time before he is entirely worn out. This pen- 



FONDNESS FOR HORSES £71 

chant for riding removes certain little delicacies in relation to 
the rights of ownership. On getting up in a morning to look 
at his horse after a hard ride on the previous day, the traveler 
is sometimes surprised and mortified to see that the noble ani- 
mal is hi a perfect foam, or covered with a cold sweat — the 
strongest evidence that some rascally native has ridden him 
all night. I knew an instance in which a gentleman caught 
a native in the act of saddling his tired horse. Being on the 
alert for him, he gave him such a chastisement with a heavy 
raw-hide as brought him three several times upon his knees, 
in which position he earnestly implored for pardon and con- 
fessed his fault. And yet the same culprit met the same gen- 
tleman on the following morning, touched his hat to him, and 
coolly said "Aloha!" (Love to you). 

Volumes might be filled with a relation of the curious meth- 
ods adopted by natives to procure money or means to purchase 
horses. But this would refer more particularly to the time 
when horses were not so numerous as now. One day a na- 
tive and his wife came to the house of a foreigner in Oahu 
with produce for sale. He had on his entire person nothing 
but a malo, and his wife's only covering was a tattered sheet 
oikapa. The foreigner offered him an equivalent in clothing 
and domestic comforts, but they were resolutely refused. On 
being closely questioned, he stated it to be his intention to pur- 
chase a horse, and that for some time past he had saved all 
the money required excepting five dollars. The foreigner 
handed him money for his produce, and the next time he saw 
this Hawaiian " Gilpin," he was mounted on the very steed 
to purchase which he had toiled and saved for more than two 
vears. 

m 

Passing on along 1 the sea-shore, and leaving those bullock- 
riders far behind, I noticed scores of men, women, and chil- 
dren out on the coral reefs fishing. Some were out at a dis- 
tance of nearly two miles in canoes. Others were nearer the 
shore, up to their waists in water, anxiously watching the 
movements of the finny tribes, which they would spear with 
remarkable swiftness whenever they made their appearance. 



272 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

Others, again, were in groups of ten to twelve, in the form of 
a crescent, and holding a light net, while one, detached for the 
purpose at the distance of a few rods, would come toward 
them, beating the water as he came, and drive the fish into 
the net, which the party would close by crowding in toward 
the centre. In one place there was a young mother accom- 
panying her husband, with an infant in her arms, and up to 
her waist in water, looking after a calabash of fish that was 
floating on the surface. Still nearer the shore there were 
small groups of women picking a species of Confervce and 
Fuel as an article of food. There is more romance in wit- 
nessing these sports than in actually sharing them. 

In truth to Nature, it may safely be asserted that beauty is 
not confined merely to the saloons of the monarch, nor to the 
tapestried chambers of the patrician. It is more frequently 
found amid the lowlier walks of life, on the desert, or the dis- 
tant isle of the ocean. In this instance I wish to be under- 
stood as speaking of physical beauty only. On leaving the 
shore road to ascend the mountains for Halawa, I met just 
such a specimen as has often driven men mad, and whose pos- 
session has many a time paved the way to the subversion of 
empire on the part of monarchs. 

She was rather above the medium size of American wom- 
en. Her finely-chiseled chin, nose, and forehead were singu- 
larly Grecian. Her beautifully-moulded neck and shoulders 
looked as though they might have been borrowed from Juno. 
The development of her entire form was as perfect as Nature 
could make it. She was arrayed in a single loose robe, be- 
neath which a pretty little nude foot was just peeping out. 
Her hair and eyebrows were as glossy as a raven's wing. 
Around her head was carelessly twined a wreath of the beau- 
tiful native ohelo flowers (Gualtheria jpendulijiorum). Her 
lips seemed fragrant with the odor of countless and untiring 
kisses. Her complexion was much fairer than the fairest of 
her countrywomen, and I was forced into the conclusion that 
she was the offshoot of some white father who had trampled 
on the seventh precept in the Decalogue, or taken to his em- 



A HAWAIIAN "VENUS." 273 

'brace, by the marriage relation, some good-looking Hawaiian 
woman. But her eyes ! I shall never forget those eyes ! They 
retained something that spoke of an affection so deep, a spir- 
itual existence so intense, a dreamy enchantment so inexpress- 
ibly beautiful, that they reminded me of the beautiful Greek 
girl "Myrrha" in Byron's tragedy of " Sardanapalus," 
whose love clung to the old monarch when the flame of the 
funeral pile formed their winding-sheet. 

In no former period of my life had I ever raised my hat in 
the presence of beauty, but at this moment, and in such a 
presence, I took it off! I was entirely fascinated, charmed, 
spell-bound now. I stopped my horse, and there I sat to take 
a fuller glance at the fair reality. And the girl stopped, and 
returned the glance, while a smile parted her lips, and par- 
tiallv revealed a set of teeth as white as snow, and of match- 
less perfection. I felt that smile to be an unsafe atmosphere 
for the nerves of a bachelor ; so I bowed, replaced my hat, 
and passed on my way, feeling fully assured that nothing but 
the chisel of Praxiteles could have copied her exquisite 
charms. And as I gently moved past her, she exclaimed, in 
the vocabulary of her country, " Love to you !" 

In ascending the elevated regions of the Hawaiian group, a 
traveler is sometimes more impressed with what there is not, 
than with what he sees. One of these negative gratifications 
is the almost universal absence of singing-birds. Seldom does 
a feathered warbler utter his melody, announcing the approach 
or the close of the long summer days. In this relation there 
is little, if any thing, to remind him of the gentle melody which 
sends its sweet echoes through the avenues of the Northern 
forests when the foliage is in its glory. 

And then the solitude of the mountains is almost oppress- 
ive. To be realized, it must be felt. It is in such places as 
these that a man can think without an effort, for thoughts 
crowd upon him fast and heavy. It was in passing over the 
mountain regions to Halawa, where I met not even a wan- 
dering native to break the solemn silence, that I thus thought. 
And yet Nature had a voice, grand, solemn, and impressive. 

M 2 



274 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

He can retire into the depths of his own spirit, and there hold 
self-converse, and feel that he is immortal. It was not in 
vain that the early Persian made the everlasting mountains 
of our earth his altars, and thus sanctified an unwalled tem- 
ple to the worship of the Eternal Spirit. Compared with 
Nature's realms of worship — the bosom of the deep, the clear, 
cold atmosphere, the summits of the mountains, the glades of 
the forest — how utterly insignificant are all the temples rear- 
ed by the hand of Goth, Greek, or Christian ! If this beau- 
tiful world, with its flowers and sweets, its lakes and rivers, 
its broad plains and fertile valleys, and its mountains, that 

" Look from their throne of clouds o'er half the world" — 
if this world is only the " footstool" of the Creator, what must 
his " throne" be ! How true are the words of "Childe Har- 
old:" 

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, 
There is a rapture on the lonely shore, 
There is society, where none intrudes, 
By the deep sea, and music in its roar : 
I love not man the less, but nature more, 
From these our interviews, in which I steal 
From all I may be, or have been before, 
To mingle with the universe, and feel 
What I can ne'er express, yet can not all conceal." 

On the extreme point of the promontory which bounds the 
eastern portion of the valley, a noble ku-kui grove (Aleurites 
triloba) was flourishing. It contained nearly two hundred 
acres, and on its outskirts stood a few native dwellings. In 
many a country it would have been a place of favorite resort. 
By the old Druids it would have been held in sacred venera- 
tion. It would have formed a classic retreat for the disciples 
of Plato and Aristotle. But the only benefit it could ever 
confer on the natives who resided near it would be candle- 
nuts for their torches. 

The Valley of Halawa, to which I have frequently alluded, 
is the finest scene on Molokai. The traveler stumbles on its 
brink unawares. At a depth of nearly twenty-five hundred 
feet below him, the whole scene is spread out before him like 



CASCADES. 275 



an exquisite panorama. Several large cascades were leaping 
from a height of several hundred feet at the head of the val- 
ley. Scores of taw beds, and a number of dwellings, and the 
romantic river, are all seen at a single glance ; and it seems 
as though a single leap would lodge the visitor at the foot of 
the enormous walls which bound this earthly Eden. 

The descent is arduous, leading down a zigzag path, the 
bottom of which it seems will never be reached. In the last 
angle of this downward path, your horse treads the edge of 
a steep bank several hundred feet high, and one false step 
would send him breathless to its foot. 

Some of the chief objects of attraction are the cascades at 
the head of the valley. A good path leads to within a quar- 
ter of a mile of the mighty precipices over which they fall. 
A little careful stepping will aid the tourist to cross the foam- 
ing torrent, as it rushes between huge masses of basalt, and 
finds its. way into the peaceful river below. At this spot the 
most difficult part of the journey commences. Now scramb- 
ling over lofty banks, or stepping up to your w T aist in treach- 
erous mud covered with a luxuriant grass, or making the cir- 
cuit of some solitary taro bed, there is quite a variety. The 
river has to be crossed again, by skillful leaps from one basalt- 
ic crag to another. Here the grass is nearly five feet high, 
occasionally concealing interstices between the rocks, and in- 
stead of stepping on solid ground, the tourist disappears among 
them several seconds at a time. There is no remedy, how- 
ever, but to crawl out and go on again. 

Some tourists over this group have boasted the absence of 
venomous creatures in whose slimy folds a traveler's limb may 
meet a warm embrace. This is all true, so far as the larger 
reptiles are concerned. But there are spiders surpassing in 
size the Lycosa Tarentida of the Italian forests ; and these 
are any thing but agreeable. With feet distended from five 
to six inches apart, these horrible creatures may be seen clings 
ing to their strong, silky webs, of a bright yellow color, and 
several yards in length. Sometimes these bright networks 
entangle the traveler's face, producing an indescribable shud- 



276 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

der. The only remedy for this inconvenience is to carry a 
stick for the purpose of beating it down as you progress, and 
then the foul-looking tenants disappear with proper dispatch. 

At length the foot of the huge spur which separates the two 
cascades is reached. The ascent of this spur is difficult and 
dangerous. Two thirds of it is achieved by the aid of stunt- 
ed foliage and strong farinaceous plants. Beyond this point 
it is necessary to stride the sharp ridge as a horseman sits his 
saddle, and by frequent jumps the top is reached. 

The summit once gained, the adventurer is rewarded by a 
magnificent prospect. One of these cascades falls from a 
height of more than two hundred feet, the other from twice 
the same elevation, and each one of them has a volume of 
thirty to forty feet wide, and four to five feet deep, at its beau- 
tiful brow. (I now refer to the rainy season.) As the eye 
follows them down their rapid descent into deep basins placed 
there, by the hand of Nature, for their reception, the brain 
becomes almost sick, and the nerves tremble like an aspen 
leaf. The sides of the perpendicular rocks and the margin of 
these basins are ornamented with the most delicate and lovely 
ferns, as if they would mock the downward rush and impetu- 
ous thunder of the delirious torrents. The huge masses of 
mountain over which these streams tumble are purely tra- 
chytic, and on their summits were trees whose verdure is ev- 
erlasting. The crateriform character of the two basins below 
led me to decide that a volcano of some magnitude had once 
been active here ; and a subsequent examination of the sides 
of the valley induced the conviction that a mighty earthquake, 
a forerunner of some eruption, rent the earth asunder from the 
crater to the sea. And this conviction was supported by test- 
ing the bed of the valley, which closely corresponds with the 
Valley of Hanalei, on Kauai. 

The natural beauty of this valley is greatly increased at the 
hour of sunset. The rays of the sun, as they melt away into 
the soft twilight, impart to the entire scene such a tinge of 
splendor as no words can express, no pencil portray. The 
glittering cascades, covered with white foam, seem to creep 



AN EVENING REPAST. 277 

nearer to the mouth of the river, and to be invested with a 
species of life allied to some familiar playthings half spiritual. 
One could almost imagine himself transported to that Alpine 
cataract by whose sides appeared the Witch of the Alps to the 
desolate and haughty soul of Byron's " Manfred." 

The cultivation of the taro is carried on here on a large 
scale. It is raised chiefly to supply the Lahaina market. I 
was informed by Mr. Dwight, at Kaluaaha, that the entire 
amount raised for sale and home consumption was valued at 
$15,000 to $20,000. The Valley of Halawa is the richest 
spot on the island. 

Probably in no portion of the group is the foreigner better 
cared for than in this valley. I was favored with a note of 
introduction to the district judge, a full-blooded Hawaiian. 
He was away from home on professional duties, but the re- 
ception extended me by his farnily was one of very marked 
cordiality. Every exertion was employed to render me " at 
home." There was a good deal of civilization in that dwell- 
ing — a state of things accounted for in the fact that his honor 
handled a few more dollars than any of his neighbors. I no- 
ticed a well-made table — a scarce article in a Hawaiian fami- 
ly — a well-finished bedstead, a few chamber chairs, and, above 
all, that universal and indispensable article of domestic com- 
fort, the Yankee rocking-chair. 

But my evening repast under that hospitable roof was one 
of the most unique character I have ever seen. First of all, 
the table was covered with a sheet just taken off the bed. 
The table-service consisted of a knife, fork, and spoon, procured 
from the foot of a long woolen stocking, a single plate, a tum- 
bler, and a calabash of pure water from a neighboring spring. 
The eatables were composed of fresh fish, baked in wrappers 
of the ti leaf (Draccena terminalis), a couple of boiled fowls, 
a huge dish of sweet potatoes, and another of boiled tar a. My 
excursion had created within me a shark-like appetite, and I 
need not say that I bestowed ample justice upon my host's 
hospitalities. The last thing served upon the table was some- 
thing which the family had learned to designate by the name 



278 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

of " tea" in English. This was emptied into large bowls, and 
was intended for the family group, myself included. 

At this stage of the performances I feel constrained to in- 
troduce my worthy cook, who undertook a discharge of the 
table-honors at that evening meal. He was a strapping Ka- 
naka, rather more than six feet in height, and would have 
weighed nearly three hundred pounds. While I was the only 
occupant of the table, the family had formed a circle on their 
mats, where they were discussing their supper with the ut- 
most eagerness. He devoted his entire attention to me. He 
was a good specimen of a well pai-iedi native. I could see 
his frame to advantage, for his sole dress consisted of a short 
woolen shirt and the malo ; and his head of hair resembled 
that of the pictured " Medusa." When I first sat down to 
the table, he took up my plate, and, with a mouthful of breath 
which was really a small breeze, he blew the dust from it. 

This act occasioned me no small merriment. But when, 
in supplying me with " tea" he took up a bowl and wiped 
it out with the corner of his flannel shirt, I could refrain 
no longer. I laughed until my sides fairly ached, and the 
tears streamed down my face, and the very house echoed 
with my mirthfulness. For a moment the family were taken 
by surprise, and so was this presiding deity of culinary op- 
erations. But on a second outburst from myself, they felt re- 
assured, and joined with me in my laughter. The cook, how- 
ever, seemed to feel that I had laughed at some one of his 
blunders ; so he dipped the bowl in a calabash of water, 
washed it out with his greasy fingers, and again wiped it out 
with that same shirt lap. This was done three times, in an- 
swer to the laughter it was impossible for me to restrain. 
And when he had filled the bowl with " tea," and saw that 
it remained untasted, he put a large quantity of sugar into 
the huge tea-kettle, shook it up, placed it at my right elbow, 
and told me to drink that ! 

I spent that night at Halawa. The evening was closed 
with solemn devotions. The best bed in the house was placed 
at my disposal ; and upon it was replaced the sheet on which 



A NIGHT AT HAL AW A. 



279 



I had just before supped, and on which I slept during that 
night. The bed was carefully stuffed with a soft downy sub- 
stance resembling yellow raw silk, but called by the natives 
pulu, and culled from the tree-fern (Cibotium chamissonis). 
The pillows were stuffed with the same material. Although 
the kapa sheets which covered me were not so smooth and 
soft as those which the Koran describes as existing in Moham- 
med's " Paradise," I found them extremely agreeable, and they 
furnished me with a night's good repose. 

These sheets of kapa, or native cloth, are regarded by every 
traveler as a great curiosity. Formerly they were only gar- 
ments used by the natives, of every age, sex, and condition. 











KAPA MALLETS. 



280 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

As sheets for bedding, it is still used extensively in remote 
portions of the group. 

The manufacture of lcapa is rather tedious, and always de- 
volves on the women. It is made of the inner bark of the 
paper mulberry (Morus papyrifera), beat out on a board, and 
joined together with arrow-root, so as to form any width or 
length of cloth required. The juice of the raspings of the 
bark of trees, together with red clay and the soot of burned 
candle-nut, furnish them with coloring matter and varnish, 
with which they daub their native cloth in the form of squares, 
stripes, triangles, &c, but, with a few exceptions, perhaps, de- 
void of taste or regularity. 

The population of the valley was little more than three 
hundred and fifty, and on the decrease. 

They appeared to be a strictly religious people, and regu- 
larly sustained their periodical meetings for religious worship. 

Their morals were more elevated than on any other part 
of the island — so I judged from their general deportment. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

JOURNEY TO THE PALIS OF KALAE. 

Deserted Villages. — Road over the Mountains. — Ravines. — Cascades. 
— The Palis. — Sublime Prospect. — Plain of Kalaupapa. — District 
of Wai-a-la-la. — Native Morals. — Licentious Dance. — How to study 
Hawaiian Character. — Deserted Residence. — Broken Resolutions. 
— Unpleasant Lodgings. — A rough Supper. — Fleas and Musqui- 
toes. — " Wailing" for the Sick. — Refuge in a Chapel. — Return to 
former Lodgings. — The Scene changed. — Daylight. 

Next to the Valley of Halawa, the Palis of Kalae claim 
the attention of the tourist, and no man visiting Molokai 
should leave the island until he has seen them. Returning 
to Kaluaaha, and directing his course westward until he 
reaches Kaunakakai, he passes several deserted villages which 
present the most absolute pictures of desolation. The houses 



THE PALIS. 281 



were falling in. Rank weeds had grown up around the oft- 
frequented doorways. And the tenants had gone — heaven 
knows whither ! 

At Kaunakakai, a small village on the sea-shore, the road 
to the Palis commences, and runs directly north over a rugged 
mountain region. Over this region the path leads through 
deep ravines, bearing traces as of recent lava-streams, or deep- 
ly shaded by a variety of foliage, interspersed with wild flow- 
ers. In crossing over some of these ravines, silvery cascades 
were leaping from crag to crag, or the stream, so clear and 
beautiful, was just fordable by the horse. Far away, on either 
hand, stood a solitary native dwelling on the summit of some 
elevation, presenting a feature as desolate and forsaken as a 
lodge built by a watcher of an Oriental garden of cucum- 
bers. Within one or two miles of the Palis, a variety of 
foliage environs the path. Among these I noticed large quan- 
tities of the castor-oil plant {Palma Christi), the Gual- 
theria pendulijlorum, and whole groves of the Dracce?ia ter- 
minalis. 

The Pali of Kalae is on the northern limit of the island of 
Molokai, and stands close to the shore of the ocean. It is per- 
pendicularly reared to a height of nearly three thousand feet. 
The brink of it is quite bare, owing to the fierce action of the 
northeast trade- winds. The traveler wends his way on foot 
through the deep mountain grass, for he is compelled to leave 
his horse at some distance behind him. All of a sudden he 
comes to the edge of the precipice ; his very knees quake under 
him ; he holds his breath ; he involuntarily sinks down into 
a sitting posture, overwhelmed with the unspeakable mag- 
nificence that is spread out before him. The ocean unfolded 
its majestic bosom for scores of miles ; and although the trades 
were blowing heavily, and the sea was rough below, the tops 
of the huge waves, crested with white foam, looked no larger 
than snow-flakes. And the larger rocks on the shore dwin- 
dled away to the size of pebbles in some mountain brook. The 
thunder of the heavy surge was lost in the distance below. 
Never before in my life had I so well realized, as at that mo- 



282 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ment, the language of" Edgar" to " Gioster," in Shakspeare's 

"King Lear :" 

" Here's the place — stand still. How fearful 
And dizzy 'tis, to cast one's eyes so low ! 
The crows and choughs, that wing the midway air, 
Show scarce so gross as beetles. * * * 
* * * * The murmuring surge, 
That o'er the unnumher'd idle pebbles chafes, 
Can not be heard so high." 

This precipice has stood, while the storms of centuries have 
swept over it, and while nations have arisen, flourished, and 
gone to the grave, and it will stand, in all its terrible majesty, 
till time itself shall expire. 

From the base of the Pali, the plains of Kalaupapa extend 
some distance seaward. Over its surface were scattered a 
number of dwellings belonging to the natives, besides numer- 
ous pasture-lands and plantations. From where I stood, they 
were just traceable to the naked eye. 

Nearly two thirds of the island were visible from this spot. 
Its broken surface, dotted occasionally with clumps of trees, 
or a low volcanic cone, and rent asunder in deep ravines, had 
a most uninviting appearance. Over the rugged brow of the 
Pali, the winds howled as though they were singing the re- 
quiem of a lost race. The dark storm-clouds were coming in 
from the sea, rolling in sublime confusion, and warning me to 
depart. 

Leaving the Palis, on my return I passed through the dis- 
trict of Wai-a-la-la. Fatigue and thirst induced me to enter 
a native house, and procure water, and take a little rest. The 
first thing which attracted my notice was the deep and undis- 
guised immorality of the native women. 

By many of the missionaries, and some of the ecclesiastical 
legislators in Honolulu, it has frequently been said that where 
no foreigners have corrupted the Hawaiians, their deportment 
is exceedingly chaste. How far this assertion is true will be 
seen in the following facts that occurred under my own ob- 
servation. 

I had not been in that house ten minutes before I noticed a 



NATIVE MORALS. 



283 



wide difference between the people in that village and in the 
Valley of Halawa. I had been urged to visit the Palls on the 
assurance that foreigners seldom or never went there. Now 
that I was among the people, I resolved to see all I could of 
native character. My appearance was uncouth enough to be 
taken for a runaway sailor. In view of this, the natives — es- 
pecially the women — manifested every possible freedom, for by 
this time quite a little crowd had collected in and around the 
house in which I was staying. Two or three of the women 
were very desirous of finding my pockets and testing their con- 
tents, and, had I permitted them, they would soon have left 
me minus of nondescripts. In that respect I concluded they 
had gone far enough, so I motioned them away, and patient- 
ly awaited the rest of the drama. 




=ToIs77vC-BAtWl' r 



NATIVE FEMALE — MODE OF SITTING. 



I sat smoking a cigar. Just before me sat a young woman, 
nude to the waist, and covered with a syphilitic eruption. 
Her hair was hanging down her back in tangled and filthy 



284 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



masses. In that condition she was feeding her child from 
" Nature's Nile." And that infant, from the crown of its 
head to the soles of its feet — for it was quite nude — was cov- 
ered, like its mother, with a disgusting cutaneous disease. I 
looked another way, and several parties were performing com- 
ic acts which should never be performed only behind the thick 
curtain of night. But my presence and the light of day had 
not the least influence on their motives and actions, for they 
completed what they so unceremoniously begun — amid the 
shouts of the by-standers. 




NATIVE MAN — MODE OF SITTING. 



There were indications that these unseemly performances 
had not come to a close, and I was resolved on seeing all I 
could of " native morality." Three of the younger women 
placed themselves in a state of nature, and commenced danc- 
ing the hula hula* to the music of a native flute and drum. 
Their intricate gyrations I can not attempt to describe, for I 
possess not the talent of a dancing-master, nor could any form 
of written language assume a sufficient modesty to attempt a 

* The licentious dance. 



TEST OF NATIVE CHARACTER. 285 

description of that scene. Its results, however, were to excite 
the animal passions to the highest degree beyond endurance. 
In the midst of this excitement, a danseuse advanced toward 
me, and before I could repel the movement, she had taken a 
seat on my shoulders, precisely as a horseman would mount 
his saddle. What else occurred in that domicile I know not. 
With me it was the last act in the drama, for I moved the 
woman from her posture, rose to my feet, mounted my horse, 
and rode away. 

I presume this statement may be abnegated by thousands 
of persons who have never seen the intense degradation of a 
semi-civilized or an uncivilized South Sea Islander. It may 
be totally denied even by many residents on the Hawaiian 
group. But that abnegation does not amount to disproof. 
This was the first time I had seen " native morality" so fully 
developed, but it was not the last. This instance taught me 
a species of philosophy I had not before thought of. It was 
this — that the natives take liberties at certain times and with 
certain persons which they will not take at other times and in 
the presence of other persons. 

There is only one key which will unlock this simple philoso- 
phy. The only mode of properly testing native character is 
simply this : A man must not go among them with a minis- 
terial suit of clothes, nor a ministerial deportment, as the mis- 
sionaries do. This is why many a resident clerical teacher 
has failed accurately to test native character when he ought 
to have known all about it. But let a man — any man — put 
on a rough suit, and put off, to a certain extent, his stoical 
gravity ; let him go and sit on their mats, share their food — 
if nature will permit him — and smoke with them, and indulge 
in a little tete-a-tete, and in one tour over the group he will 
see more than many a permanently located missionary will 
see in twenty years. Who does not know that semi-civilized 
islanders have a secret dread of their spiritual teachers, and 
that they will conceal many things in their presence which 
they would not think of concealing in their absence ? This 
is but human nature ; and it is the same in professedly Chris- 



286 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

tian lands as in pagan countries. In nations and states where 
Popery sways an absolute sceptre, a sight of the cowl and 
hood, and the ringing of the vesper-hell, will produce the most 
complete momentary transformations. Every employment 
and pursuit, of whatever character, or by whomsoever patron- 
ized, immediately terminates ; nor is it resumed until the ces- 
sation of the superstitious spell. So, wherever men, as teach- 
ers, have acquired any influence over the minds of their pros- 
elytes, they have only to make their appearance, and their 
disciples endeavor to appear what they wish them to be. On 
these grounds missionaries have many a time censured the 
honest statements of travelers ; but, under the circumstances, 
those travelers knew most of native character. They went 
among them quietly and unpretendingly, and the rude natives 
acted out before them their exact nature. In this way, they 
saw what the missionaries, as missionaries, never saw, and 
can never see ; and in this way every traveler passing over 
the group to-day has the advantage. 

In retracing my steps toward the southern shore of the isl- 
and, at a distance of about two miles from the Palis, I passed 
the residence of Mr. Hitchcock, once the missionary of this dis- 
trict. The family had gone away to the United States, and 
their absence from that dwelling imparted to it a shade of 
profound solitude. I found the rooms pleasantly furnished, 
and resolved on staying there that night. I turned my tired 
horse into a pasture. My next step was to roll down one of 
the beds, and I was as well satisfied with my performance as 
though it had been done by the most accomplished valet de 
chambre. There were at least two hours left for reading 
before the day merged into total night ; a propensity which, 
in the absence of supper or #ny means to procure it, was not 
difficult to gratify. 

There was a small library of good reading, among which 
were the familiar titles of Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary, 
Cowper's Poems, Fox's Martyrology, and Bunyan's " Pil- 
grim's Progress" translated into the Hawaiian language. The 
" Pilgrim" was a pet of mine in my school-boy days ; and the 



DESERTED RESIDENCE. 287 

vivid impressions then produced in my mind about the " De- 
lectable Mountains," the " Land of Beaulah," the "River of 
Death," and the " Eternal City," were reproduced as I turn- 
ed over the Hawaiian pages of that matchless allegory. Lit- 
tle did the poor " tinker" think, when in Bedford jail, that his 
" Pilgrim" would find its way to this distant archipelago ! But 
where has it not journeyed, as though it were animated by the 
prophetic mandate of its immortal author — 

M Go now, my little book, to every place ?" 

It has crossed the burning plains of India and Persia — passed 
through the forest glades of Burmah and Ceylon — traversed 
the valleys of Syria and Palestine — and wended its way 
through almost every obscure corner of the North American 
Continent. And it shall live until the sun of Nature rises and 
sets for the last time, and after human languages have per- 
ished on the lips of the last of Adam's race. 

I stood turning over the pages of that library until the sky 
grew dark, and then my resolution to stay all night entirely 
forsook me. As I turned away from those pages, the wind 
uttered its sad and wild moanings, and heavy storm-clouds 
came sweeping over the tops of the mountains. In the apart- 
ment in which I stood, there lay strewn around me the toy of 
the child, and the vestiges of things which had engaged the at- 
tention of sober manhood : they were memorials of the loving 
and the loved ; associations ©f days which had fled forever. 
These things made that silence more still, and that solitude 
more solitary. I could no longer endure it ; but, rolling back 
the bed I had smoothed down, and saddling my already tired 
horse, and securing the door of the house as I passed out of it, 
I mounted and started for the sea-shore on the south. 

By the time I reached Kaunakakai, night had spread its 
dark wings over every object. I rode up to a hut and bar- 
gained for a night's lodgings. Negotiations having been closed, 
my smutty host kindly inquired into the condition of my " in- 
ner man." In something short of an hour, he brought a mess 
which was sufficient to have disgusted a shark. It consisted 



288 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

of some sweet potatoes and salt fish dried in the sun. But 
such a mess ! Had my existence depended on that food, I 
could not have taken it ; and I soon forgot that I had already 
fasted twenty- four hours. But I felt enraged and disappoint- 
ed ; so I took up the dish of provisions, and flung them all at 
the head of my worthy host, much to his sincere indignation 
and disgust. My only solace lay in raising a cloud of smoke 
from cigars, while the host and his son collected the scattered 
fragments of the supper I had just flung at his head, and then 
sat down and devoured them with the appetite of cannibals. 

Failing in my efforts to gratify a keen appetite, I concluded 
to retire for the night. But if I had retired supperless, the 
fleas and musquitoes seemed resolved on another thing. I had 
been exposed pretty freely to these sorts of things on the island 
of Kauai ; but they were no more to be compared with these 
merciless bed-fellows, than Gulliver's Liliputian warriors 
with the Anakims of the early ages of the world. The mats 
seemed lined with fleas, and the atmosphere of the wretched 
hovel of a house seemed thick with musquitoes. Tired na- 
ture, however, was gaining the ascendency over this species of 
martyrdom, and I was just closing my eyes in a refreshing 
sleep, when such a weeping and wailing commenced as was 
never before heard on this side of Hades. It seemed as though 
Pandemonium had broken loose from its Stygian confines, and 
had come to pay a midnight visit to this settlement. In a 
moment I sprung from my mat and entered the next house, 
from which the lamentation seemed to proceed. 

On entering the wretched abode, such a scene burst on my 
vision as I wish never to see again. There sat a group of 
thirty or forty women, in the centre of whom was a mother 
with streaming eyes and disheveled hair, and an infant, ap- 
parently in the last pangs of existence, lay stretched at full 
length across her knees. She was bathing its head with cold 
water, and besmearing its limbs with a thick decoction of can- 
dle-nut bark. At intervals of a few seconds, the mother would 
recommence her unearthly wailing, in which she was joined 
by the other women, who seemed to aim at nothing else but 



REFUGE IN A CHAPEL. 289 

the loudest noise. Their faces were distorted as if with mortal 
agony ; but the mother of the sick child was the only woman 
that shed real tears. The gloomy reality was completed by 
a few men who were present, some of whom sat up as pro- 
foundly still as the Egyptian Memnon ; while the others lay, 
faces downward, and snoring away as if designing never to 
wake until the archangel's trumpet should announce the ar- 
rival of the resurrection morning. 

That wailing continued ; of itself, it was enough to kill any 
well child, not to say any thing of one nearly dead. Not 
caring to stay to philosophize on the subject, I started for the 
native Church. It was some distance from this scene of sor- 
row, but the moon was rising, and I found it easily. On en- 
tering the building, I groped round for materials to make a 
pillow, and found a pile of books. These I placed on the 
platform which supported the pulpit, and once more stretched 
myself for the purpose of sleep. But the Fates — if they really 
have an existence — were against me that night. Even there, 
the siege commenced afresh, but with more vigor, for this 
time there was an addition of mice and cockroaches. Inch 
by inch they disputed the ground with me ; but remembering 
that, in this instance at least, discretion was the best part of 
valor, I concluded to leave them the undisputed victors. 

There was now left no imaginable alternative but to return 
to my former lodgings. On nearing the house, I found that 
another order of things existed — the sick child had suddenly 
recovered. And now their mirth was as unbounded as their 
sorrow had just before been deep and distressing. They con- 
tinued these rejoicings until daylight dawned on the village, 
and found me half asleep under a large canoe. 

No vigil-keeper by a sick couch was ever more glad to wel- 
come the coming dawn than I did that morning. In addi- 
tion to the many annoyances of the previous night, I discov- 
ered that my tired horse had been rode all night by some mis- 
creant of a Kanaka. Brimful of wrath at such a proceed- 
ing, I quietly returned to Kaluaaha, which place I soon left for 
Lahaina, on Maui. 

N 



290 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

ISLAND OF MAUI. 

Lahaina from the Sea. — Lahaina on Shore. — Public Buildings. — 
Palace. — Fort. — Churches. — Houses. — Beer-shops. — "Fourth of 
July" at Lahaina. — Police. — Evils of the Police System. — Harbor. 
— Commerce. — Surf-bathing. — A singular Providence. — Marque- 
san Chief. — Christian Liberality. — Seminary at Lahainaluna. — Its 
Location. — Early History. — Present Condition. — Old Hawaiian 
Gods. 

Viewed from the anchorage, Lahaina is the most pictur- 
esque town on the Hawaiian group. It is the capital of Maui ; 
and a few years since it was the abode of royalty. 

The town of Lahaina is in longitude 156° 41/ west, lat- 
itude 20° 5V 50" north. It has a front of two miles, and 
is close to the sea-shore, which is skirted with the foam of 
lofty and powerful rollers coming in from the ocean. Many 
of the houses look as though they had actually grown up out 
of the trees. 

But the background of the picture is the most impressive 
and grand. The mountains rise to a height of rather more 
than six thousand one hundred feet above the sea, and are cleft 
asunder by precipices thousands of feet in depth. To come 
and gaze on these splendid footprints of the Almighty, it is 
worth a journey of thousands of miles. During every hour 
of the day, they assume a new feature beneath the different 
degrees of sunlight. But the most perfect view of them can 
be obtained just as the sun is going down behind the wave of 
the ocean. A tourist continues his gaze as though some in- 
visible chain held him to the spot. Towering far above La- 
haina, and at a distance of two miles, may be seen the semi- 
nary of Lahainaluna. 

But Lahaina has a very different appearance to a stranger 
when ashore. It is a difference as great as that which exists 






Aft 




LAHAINA ON SHORE. 293 

between dream-life and life that is real. It has but one prin- 
cipal street, intersected by a few others running at right an- 
gles. They are all too narrow, and without any regular gra- 
ding, and many portions of them are inclosed by ruined adobe 
walls. Their surface is composed chiefly of a red tufaceous 
lava-dust, deep, hot, and dry during a very large portion of 
the year, and very obnoxious to pedestrians. But all these 
features are relieved by a various and extensive foliage, com- 
prising the bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa), the cocoa-nut 
(Cocos nucifera), the candle-nut (Aleurites triloba), the koa 
( Acacia falcata\ and the hau {Hibiscus tiliaceus). These 
afford a romantic and refreshing shade from the mid-day sun. 

In Lahaina the public buildings are few in number and 
uncostly in appearance. They include a hospital for seamen, 
a few school-houses for native children, a custom-house and 
post-office — comprised in one building — and a newly-erect- 
ed jail, which affords rough accommodations for delinquents 
against civil and spiritual laws, brought from Molokai, La- 
nai, and every portion of Maui. And among these culprits, 
poor " Jack," just come in from the toils of the ocean, may 
not infrequently be numbered for a violation of the seventh 
precept of the Decalogue. 

The Palace (!) is a plain, huge frame building for such a 
place as Lahaina. It is a hundred and twenty feet long, and 
forty in width, exclusive of a piazza, which entirely surrounds 
it. It has two stories, divided o£F into almost any number of 
apartments, without the least regard to comfort or design. 
It was never finished, and never will be ; consequently, it re- 
tains an appearance peculiarly ruinous. The best thing about 
it is its location, close to the ebbing and flowing of the tides, 
and within hearing of that never- wearying hymn, the ocean's 
anthem. 

Yet this worthless pile, erected, too, at vast expense, was 
once the abode of royalty. Here, in his younger days, Kame- 
hameha III. convoked his counselors on affairs of state and 
received foreign officials. But, since those days, every thing 
and every body has changed. The past seems more an as- 



294 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

semblage of shadows that have fled away forever. The large 
saloon in which the monarch formerly held his soirees is now 
employed as a circuit-court room, and very comical and ab- 
surd are some of the scenes sometimes enacted there. In the 
rear of this ruined pile is a large fish-pond, in the centre of 
which, and on a small island, stands a tomb containing sev- 
eral defunct members of Hawaiian nobility, some of whom 
wandered over this shore before the face of the first foreigner 
was seen by any of them. It is thus that governors, like the 
governed, go back to the dust from whence they sprung, and 
where there are no more human distinctions in place, wealth, 
and power. 

The fort is much like that at Honolulu both in form, ma- 
terial, and capacity. It is a cumbrous mass of no use what- 
ever, but occupies the best and most valuable piece of land 
in the town. It was erected in 1832 by Hoapili, the chief 
of the royal forces that conquered the insurgents at Kauai in 
1824. Its walls are lumbered with twenty-one useless guns 
of every calibre. Their principal use is to fire salutes on the 
birth-day of Kamehameha III. 

In Lahaina there are two churches — a Bethel for seamen 
and foreigners, and a large house of worship used by the na- 
tive population. It was erected at an early period in the 
Sandwich Island Mission, and is the best and most seemly 
structure on the group. Its capacity is sufficient to accom- 
modate the entire native population of Lahaina. 

The houses are mostly built in the Hawaiian style of arch- 
itecture, which has already been described. There are a few 
dwellings, owned by foreigners, which are peculiarly neat and 
inviting in their appearance and location. 

There are no licensed taverns in this sea-port, but, what is 
infinitely worse, there are numbers of licensed victualing- 
houses. The very appearance of these dens is enough to cre- 
ate within a man a disgust of his race — enough to make a 
savage sick. They are kept entirely by a few low foreigners. 
During the spring and fall seasons, when the whaling fleets 
are here to recruit, there are no fewer than twelve of these 



BEER- SHOPS. 295 



Plutos in full blast. And these hot-beds of vice are termed 
" Houses of Refreshment !" and " Sailors' Homes !" 

" These terms need not be interpreted to those who are at 
all conversant with seamen, their general character, and hab- 
its ; the object with which but too large a proportion of them 
seek first to be entertained, when coming on shore after a 
voyage or a cruise, and the altar upon which so many lay 
property, and peace, and character, and all, a willing sacri- 
fice. Refreshed with 5000 or 6000 gallons of ' New England 
rum,' and kindred spirits during a single year ! Refreshed, 
indeed, and with a vengeance ! as the troubles on board ships 
from the intemperance of their crews — the pawning of clothes 
and chests, and books and instruments, to procure a few glass- 
es of the ' good creature'— the sicknesses and diseases conse- 
quent upon drinking ardent spirits — the lodgment of a score 
or more of sailors upon the bare ground in the fort, for weeks 
or months, and with kalo and salt and water for their daily 
food and drink, as a penalty for scrapes into which rum had 
brought them — and as the shame, and conscious disgrace and 
degradation, which a sailor must feel on awaking to con- 
sciousness, after a drunken fit in a grog-shop, would probably 
testify." 

And then the vile decoctions which are constantly palmed 
off as " beer" on the too pliant sailor, would best merit the 
title of " double-distilled damnation ;" for this beverage has 
the capacity to produce scenes, the mere mention of which is 
impossible. An idea of the profits arising from this "beer"- 
selling may be formed from the fact that a room twelve by 
fourteen, centrally located, will rent at $100 per month. 

The result of this pseudo-license system was plainly visible 
on the fourth of July, 1853, among some of the crews of the 
United States sloop Portsmouth and the frigate St. Lawrence. 
The governor of the island had removed every restriction, in 
the shape of fines and imprisonment, that would tend to fet- 
ter the liberties, not only of " Jack ashore," but the entire na- 
tive population of the town. Sensible of these acts of clem- 
ency, it hardly need be said that no person was slow to cm- 



296 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

brace opportunities that are not of every-day occurrence. The 
sailor could take his " glass of cheer, " gallop his horse through 
the streets, and he gallant to the native women, without in- 
curring the vengeance of the law, or securing a solitary place 
of abode in the fort. It is impossible to depict by the pen 
the singularly comic equestrian feats of some of the sailors ; 
nothing less than the pencil of Cruikshank would be equal 
to the task. Many an unlucky fall was witnessed. In one 
instance, a sailor, rather " tight" from the effects of liquor, 
affirmed that the legs of his horse were extremely uneven, 
and he dismounted in order to measure their length before he 
would venture again along the streets. Others might be seen 
on horses, with women sitting in front of the saddle, and near- 
ly frantic with mirth. The governor very generously took the 
tabu off himself and family, and those who had no moral 
helm attached to their vessels drifted about just where they 
pleased. 

All this time the police were silent spectators of all these 
scenes. There was many a good opportunity to drag " Jack" 
and his paramour away to the fort, and share the fine imposed 
on their forbidden " loves." But the suspension of the tabu 
rendered them powerless pro tern. Their only consolation 
was to follow the sailor's plan of enjoyment, or to 

"Grin horribly a ghastly smile," 

and pass on. In all probability, an efficient body of police 
will do a great deal toward the maintenance of order ; but 
in some parts of the world — the town of Lahaina included — 
it is exceedingly questionable how much they accomplish to- 
ward the preservation of virtue. A more unprincipled set of 
fellows than the police at the Sandwich Islands generally — 
and especially at Lahaina — can not be found. They can be 
bribed to do any thing but commit murder. Many a time 
they have gone and laid a snare, not only for foreigners, but 
for their own unsuspecting countrymen. When the plot has 
been ripe for development, or has just reached its crisis, the 
base hireling who led him into the coil has gone and brought 



HARBOR OF LAHAINA. 297 

his posse along with him, and pounced upon him like a wild 
beast. Like " Samson" shorn of his locks, he has been drasr- 
ged most brutally to the fort, while the " Delilah," who was 
employed as the principal bait, skulks away, giggling at her 
escape from public recognition and lodgings in prison. Of 
course the crest-fallen victim does not wish to be placed in con- 
finement, and yet there is no alternative between that and the 
payment of $30 to these sagacious blood-hounds, who chuckle 
over the folly of their victim as they pocket the " spoils." In 
most cases, the female culprit is treated on the same plan. 

It can not but be seen that such a system is rife' with evils 
of the deepest dye. In all parts of the kingdom police are 
paid regular wages, but this does not disincline them to make 
a few dimes in the manner above described. In speaking of 
Hawaiian police, it may safely be said that they worship no 
god so much as Mammon, and, next to that, Lust. So long 
as these fellows can be bribed to their present extent, or be 
permitted to adopt and carry out the blackest of intrigues, just 
so long will the foundations of female virtue be undermined. 
These police very well illustrate the vile saying, " Employ a 
rogue to catch a rogue !" In their case, it is like his Satanic 
majesty sitting in judgment over his apostate compeers. 

Within the last few years, the port of Lahaina has become 
quite a resort for vessels from foreign nations. This may be 
owing, in a great measure, to the character of the harbor. The 
anchorage is accessible at any hour of the day or night. The 
master of a vessel need not await the mere pleasure of a pilot 
to conduct him to a spot where he can anchor. The best 
holding-ground is between the fort and the native church. 
During the winter season, the winds blow strong from the 
south ; consequently, they threaten a vessel with a lee shore. 
But these winds are of short duration, and come only at inter- 
vals. The northeast trades blow during nine tenths of the 
year, when the town and anchorage are amply sheltered by 
the lofty mountains in the rear, and a ship rides at her anchor 
as safely as when her timbers flourished in the forest. A ves- 
sel has never been lost here, and both access to this port and 

N2 



298 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

egress from it are easily effected by day or night, and at any 
season of the year. In these respects it is vastly superior to 
the port of Honolulu. 

This sea-port was once deemed the best in the group ; nor is 
there any solid reason why it should not now be regarded as 
such. The fact that the king has fixed his abode at Honolu- 
lu may have drawn to that port a greater number of foreign- 
ers than otherwise. Of course it is to their interests to advo- 
cate the alleged superiority of that harbor. But these things 
do not detract from the commercial importance of Lahaina. 
The truth of this position is clearly demonstrated in the fact 
that, in the spring season of 1853, no fewer than seventy 
whale ships came here to recruit. For many years it has oc- 
cupied this commercial position. Shipping to any amount can 
be supplied with the utmost dispatch. A vessel of any ton- 
nage can be watered for the sum of ten dollars. It may safely 
be predicted that, when the immense agricultural resources of 
Maui shall be fully developed, Lahaina will become the capi- 
tal of the group. Those resources may sustain a population 
of 150,000 ; but they will never be properly developed until 
the soil is universally turned up by the plowshare of the Amer- 
ican farmer. 

Of the numerous national games and amusements formerly 
practiced by the Hawaiians, surf-bathing is about the only one 
which has not become extinct. Lahaina is the only place on 
the group where it is maintained with any degree of enthusi- 
asm, and even there it is rapidly passing out of existence. In 
other days, there was no amusement which more displayed the 
skill, or bestowed a greater physical benefit on the performer, 
than this. Formerly it was indulged in by all classes of per- 
sons, of all ages and both sexes, from royalty to the lowest 
plebeian, at one time and in the same place. Even the huge 
regent Kaahumanu, and others, by whose coffins I stood and 
pondered in the royal tomb at Honolulu, were in the habit of 
bathing in the surf at Lahaina. At this day, the sport is con- 
fined more to the youthful portion of the community. 

Surf-bathing is an exciting sport to the swimmer, and a 



SURF-BATHING. 399 

cause for excitement and astonishment on the part of an un- 
accustomed spectator. The swimmers start out from the shore, 
taking with them their surf-boards. These boards are of di- 
mensions suited to the muscular strength and capacity of the 
swimmers. As they proceed seaward, they dive, like ducks, 
underneath the heavy rollers, and come up on the other side. 
This course is pursued until the outermost roller is reached — 
sometimes nearly a mile from the shore. The higher the 
roller, the more exciting and grand is the sport. Placing them- 
selves on these boards, the bathers gradually approach the in- 
ward current of the roller as it sweeps over the reef, and, 
lying on the chest, striding, kneeling, or standing up on the 
bo,ard, they are borne on the foaming crest of the mighty wave 
with the speed of the swiftest race-horse toward the shore, 
where a spectator looks to see them dashed into pieces or 
maimed for life. By a dexterous movement, however, they 
slip off their boards into the water, grasp them in their hands, 
dive beneath the yet foaming and thundering surge, and go 
out seaward to repeat the sport. This they do for hours in 
succession, until a traveler is almost led to suppose they are 
amphibious. This game involves great skill ; it is acquired 
only by commencing it in the earliest childhood. A standing 
position on the swiftly-gliding surf-board is a feat of skill never 
yet surpassed by any circus-rider. 

While I was staying at Lahaina, a very singular providence 
developed itself in relation to the Christianity of the islands. 
It had its development in the arrival of a Marquesan chief. 
In his personal appearance he was an interesting fellow. He 
was rather below medium size for a South Sea Islander, with 
a muscular form, features rather sharp, a prominent nose and 
chin, forehead rather retiring, and his hair trimmed to a bushy 
ridge, running over the crown from ear to ear, giving him a 
formidable and warlike aspect. 

For a man of his character, the object of his visit seemed 
more romantic than real ; but it manifested the silent and 
sovereign agency of the great Father of the universe over his 
creatures, and it teaches a very significant lesson. 



300 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

On the morning of March the 14th, 1853, Makounui — the 
chief in question — and his son-in-law, Puu, presented them- 
selves at the residence of Dr. Baldwin, the missionary at La- 
haina. The chief stated that he had come from the island of 
Hakuhiwa, in the Marquesan group. He had come to procure 
a teacher of Christianity to take back with him. He thought 
they might get a Hawaiian first, and subsequently a white 
man. On being questioned what they had seen or heard which 
induced them to wish for a religious teacher, they replied, 
" We have nothing but war, war, war ! fear, trouble, and 
poverty. We have nothing good, and are tired of living so. 
We wish to live as you do here." 

But what added a yet deeper interest to the mission of this 
pagan warrior-chief was the nature of the circumstances un- 
der which he left his home in the Marquesas. The people 
were then at war. Puu stated that Makounui was the high 
chief of the island of Hakuhiwa, and had ten chiefs under him. 
In this war he had employed one thousand fighting men. 
There was a strong force opposed to him. When the war 
was ended, he called his chiefs together, and proposed the busi- 
ness of sending for a missionary. For a long time he had 
cherished this idea. It was first conceived by seeing sailors 
who were natives of the Sandwich Islands, and the islands of 
Raratonga, Aitutake, and Mangaia coming ashore, well dress- 
ed, from whale ships. He felt satisfied that the Hawaiian 
sailors were the best clothed of any, and on asking them a few 
questions in regard to it, he instantly exclaimed, " The gods 
of Hawaii best clothe their people ! they are, therefore, the 
best gods ! The gods of Hawaii shall be our gods !" 

It was decided by the council of chiefs to send Makounui 
and his son-in-law to Tahiti or the Sandwich Islands for a 
teacher. Before he embarked on this voyage, it was clearly 
understood that, if he were absent from his people and lands 
longer than five months, they were to conclude him dead. 
Having set out, he adopted a very unique method of comput- 
ing time. He kept a piece of twine, in which he tied a knot 
for each day and night during the voyage, until they sighted 



CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 39^ 

the high mountains of Hawaii. After six knots a space was 
left, which, he said, indicated to himself the time when he left 
his own archipelago. There were forty-seven knots in this 
twine ; thus showing that they had heen twenty-three and a 
half days coming within sight of Hawaii, exclusive of thirteen 
days more in reaching Lahaina on the 14th of March. 

On the countenance of this chief there dwelt a deep and 
constant anxiety. For this there was ample cause. He knew 
it was the custom of the Marquesans, when a chief was sup- 
posed to be dead after a certain absence, to seize upon his pos- 
sessions and kill his family. Aside from this, h'e was very 
desirous to procure teachers to instruct his benighted country- 
men. 

It is superfluous to state, that in his enterprise the Sand- 
wich Island churches felt a profound interest. His errand 
was laid before the General Meeting of the missionaries in 
May, 1853. The Directors of the Hawaiian Missionary Soci- 
ety chartered the English brigantine " Royalist," at an expense 
of several thousand dollars, which were raised by the native 
churches. The tone of that meeting is graphically described 
by the editor of the "Friend" for June, 1853 : 

" The anniversary of this society took place at the Bethel, 
Tuesday evening, May 24th. The exercises on the occasion 
were rendered exceedingly interesting in consequence of the 
presence of the Marquesan chief, who has come for a " Kumu" 
or teacher. The Rev. Mr. Alexander officiated as interpreter, 
who informed this messenger from Marquesas that the audience 
had assembled to confer in regard to the sending of mission- 
aries to his countrymen. With great earnestness, the chief 
asked, ■ Have you found the teacher?' It was for a ' teacher' 
that he had come — that was his sole errand. That one idea 
has been ever present to his mind, in public and in private. 
To one of the missionaries he remarked that he came, not to 
see the country, its fig-trees, or its other products, but for a 
' teacher.'" 

The request of the Marquesan chief was granted. The 
"Royalist" sailed on the 16th of June, taking out the chief, 



302 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

his son-in-law, three native clergymen and their wives, and 
Mr. Parker, missionary at Kaneohe, Oahu. 

Whatever may be the fate of that enterprise, and whether 
expectations which have been cherished will ever be realized, 
there is no lover of his race but will wish it a hearty " God- 
speed !" Repeatedly have attempts been made to civilize and 
Christianize those savage and warlike islanders. The Eng- 
lish and American missionaries, as well as the French Cath- 
olics, have all been doomed to disappointment. In summing 
up the prospects of this enterprise, the "Friend" for July 
says : 

"We hope, as the missionary spirit is awaking, and two ex- 
peditions having already left our shores, others will follow in 
their wake. Let one, at least, annually go forth, until every 
island in Polynesia shall not only be visited, but the Bible be 
translated into every dialect spoken by these wasting nations. 
The Bible, faithfully translated into the dialect of any heathen 
people, is a prouder monument of the Church of Christ than 
are the most costly Christian temples which adorn the en- 
lightened nations of Europe and America. Suppose the na- 
tions and tribes of Polynesia may waste and vanish before civ- 
ilization, let Christians break to them the bread of life, and 
now promptly discharge a duty which was tardily performed 
or altogether neglected by former generations." 

This language is sensible and just, and will readily be ap- 
preciated by thousands of enlightened and liberal minds. A 
few moments of reflection will be sufficient to show that the 
success of that enterprise depends entirely on the character of 
the first efforts made on the Marquesan soil. Look to it, ye 
pioneers, that none of you dabble in the political councils of 
warlike chieftains. Should commerce send the white-winged 
clipper to your shores, throw no obstacles in the way of trade, 
as many have done at the Sandwich Islands. In your at- 
tempts to Christianize those warrior-tribes, civilize them on a 
generous commercial basis. Should the chiefs ever derive a 
revenue from commercial relations, stand aloof from financial 
matters, and see to it that the fingers of your compeers are 



SEMINARY AT LAHAINALUNA. 3Q3 

kept out. of the treasury, otherwise your efforts to benefit 
that people will be as useless as the attempts of a tidal in- 
flux to wash away a continent. In such an enterprise as this, 
no private consideration should actuate the mind — no sectari- 
anism should level its deadly venom at a brother's soul. Ves- 
sels may be employed to convey religious teachers to a foreign 
shore, and thousands may be lavished on their support, but, so 
long as denominationalisms exist so extensively as they do at 
this day, not much good will be realized. We may hope for 
the cessation of crime and vice, want and sorrow — we may 
look for the dawn of the jubilee of our whole race, only when 

" From the lips of Truth, one mighty breath 
Shall, like a whirlwind, scatter in its breeze 
The whole dark pile, of human mockeries: 
Then shall the reign of mind commence on earth, 
And, starting fresh as from a second birth, 
Man, in the sunshine of the world's new spring, 
Shall walk transparent, like some holy thing !" 

But it is time we paid a visit to the seminary at Lahaina- 
luna. As I have already stated, it is two miles at the back 
of Lahaina, on an elevation of six hundred and fifty-two feet 
above the sea. The road leading up to it was made several 
years since by some of the students then in the seminary. Al- 
though the seminary buildings overlook the town of Lahaina, 
a large extent of calm blue ocean, and the neighboring isl- 
ands of Lanai and Kahoolawe, it is the very worst location 
which even a bad taste could have selected over the whole 
group. Its selection for a retreat for Hawaiian students is a 
specimen of the impracticable and absurd. The soil is com- 
posed of a red clay, which in dry weather forms a fine red 
dust that covers and chokes every thing, and which is raised 
in dense clouds by the daily winds that sweep down the 
slopes of the mountains in the rear. This is an obstacle to 
native comfort, and a complete nuisance to every visitor. 

As this seminary has all along been fostered by missionary 
enterprise, a glance at its early history can not fail of some in- 
terest to a general reader. I have gathered my materials from 



304 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

a sketch published some years since in the Hawaiian Spec- 
tator* The primitive object of the institution was to aid in 
the advancement of Christianity and the perpetuity of its in- 
stitutions ; to elevate the moral and religious condition of the 
people, and to teach them the arts and sciences, and to pro- 
vide suitable teachers for the existing generations. This 
school was established on the principle of self-support, and 
none were admitted but those who could support themselves 
by manual labor. It went into operation in 1831. The site 
of the school was then in a rude and barren state ; the only 
school-house was a temporary shed, constructed of poles and 
grass by the scholars. In a few weeks, the scholars, under the 
direction of the principal, commenced building a more perma- 
nent house. But great embarrassment was experienced for 
the want of means to carry forward the work, and of skill in 
the workmen. After two or three accidents, which material- 
ly put back the work, the walls of a house, fifty feet by twen- 
ty-six inside, were finished and covered with ti leaf, and fur- 
nished with rude seats and window-blinds, but without a floor. 
This building was erected entirely by the scholars themselves. 

In 1836, the character of the institution was changed. The 
self-supporting system was laid aside, and no pupils were ad- 
mitted beyond the age of twenty years. 

In 1837, the present buildings were reared, and their ex- 
tent and cost is thus described in the sketch already alluded 
to : " They consist of a centre building and two wings, all in 
one block. They are built of stone. The centre building is 
forty feet square inside, two and a half stories high, with a 
small cupola. The lower story affords two school-rooms. 
The second story affords a good room, forty feet square, for a 
chapel. A room above the chapel, forty feet by eighteen, is 
occupied as a room for apparatus, library, curiosities, &c. The 
two wings were each fifty feet by twenty-six, two stories high. 
The lower story of one is a school-room, and the upper story 
a dwelling-house for one of the teachers. The lower story of 
the other is a dining-hall for the boarding-scholars. The up- 

* Vol. i., No. iv., Art. \ K 



EARLY HISTORY. 305 

per story is unfinished, but designed as a dwelling-house for a 
secular assistant. In addition to this building, there are twen- 
ty-seven small thatched houses for lodging-rooms for the pu- 
pils, besides a few other small buildings, such as cook-house, 
store-houses, &c. These buildings, including the dwelling- 
houses connected with them, and the improvements on the 
yard, cost about $12,500." This institution was endowed 
by the king and chiefs with a grant of lands, for the purpose 
of aiding the pupils in raising their own food, which was val- 
ued at about two cents per scholar per day, or $7 30 a year. 
Their food was principally poi and fish — the common food of 
the country — but eaten at a table, with bowls, spoons, knives, 
&c. The clothing of each scholar consisted of a shirt and pan- 
taloons. The entire personal expenses for the year amounted 
to about $20. 

Their course of study was reading, writing, Scripture geog- 
raphy, history and chronology, Church history, elements of ge- 
ometry and astronomy, trigonometry, mensuration, algebra, 
navigation, and surveying. To test their capacity for the class- 
ics, they were permitted to study Greek, and they made con- 
siderable progress in that language. 

But the change introduced into the seminary since 1836 
has been highly disadvantageous to the pupils. The rapid 
transition of a number of young men from out-of-door exercise 
to close mental exertion could not fail to inflict certain evils 
upon themselves and others with whom they came in contact. 
The savage can not be taken from his canoe, from his fishing 
excursions, his loiterings in the valleys or among the mount- 
ains, and immured within the walls of a seminary with im- 
punity. Practical labor must ever be paramount to mere in- 
tellectual pursuits, or the exertions made to elevate native 
character are almost useless. 

After all the means expended on this seminary, one is nat- 
urally led to hope to see something of the results of that ex- 
penditure. But there are few to be seen to-day. The insti- 
tution has long been past the meridian of its usefulness. Not- 
withstanding it had for some time past been under the foster- 



306 SANDWICH. ISLAND NOTES. 

ing care of the government, I found the buildings half pros- 
trated, and the remaining portion looked as if they were des- 
tined soon to share the same fate. It was at the time of va- 
cation. The pupils had gone to their homes or to visit their 
friends. The rooms they had vacated were half filled with 
every variety of cast-ofTor dirty articles, and presented the very 
epitome of filth and recklessness. The chapel, recitation-rooms, 
and lecture-rooms were in a deplorably filthy condition. From 
these circumstances, it was not difficult to estimate the appear- 
ance of the pupils when occupying their respective desks and 
rooms, or when formed into a class for recitation. The whole 
seemed to me to be an almost total failure of an object once 
inherently good ; and it was because the earlier instructors 
were not eminently practical and systematic men. For twen- 
ty-two years the young men of the group have been boring 
away at their intellectual pursuits amid all the poverty of 
their native language. For twenty-two years exertions have 
been making to produce a grand failure. The costs of this in- 
stitution to the Hawaiian government amounted, in 1852, to 
$6000 ; and in his annuul report, the Minister of Public In- 
struction recommended that the same amount be appropriated 
for 1853, besides $3500 for the repairs of the ruined build- 
ings.^ 

The modern course of instruction is closely allied to the sys- 
tem originally established. It consists of arithmetic, mental 
and written algebra, geometry, trigonometry, optics, sacred, 
ancient, and Church history, composition, punctuation, anat- 
omy, didactic theology, and Hawaiian laws. 

During the twenty-one years ending in 1852, four hundred 
and ninety-nine students have received their diplomas, after an 
individual course of four years' study. A few of them have 
become teachers, evangelists, and ordained clergymen, while 
a few others have acted as judges, lawyers, and physicians, 
the last of which are villainous professions in the hands of Ha- 
waiians generally. 

In the museum of this seminary, in the midst of a pile of 
* See Annual Report for 1852, p. 59. 



OLD HAWAIIAN GODS. 



307 



worthless philosophical apparatus, I observed a couple of old 
Hawaiian gods. Their aspect was extremely ridiculous and 
repulsive. One was about two feet high. It was composed 
of a plain piece of wood, slightly hollowed out at the back, 
while the front was covered with a piece of native cloth, mark- 
ed with sundry figures more grotesque than some of the old 
Aztec hieroglyphics. The other idol was about six feet high, 
carved out of a solid log, and of grim countenance. These 
gods are correctly represented in the accompanying wood-cut. 
It was with some difficulty that I concluded that the people 





308 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

of a former generation were so intellectually debased, or that 
these were 

"The devils they adored for deities." 

Yet all this was true ! While I stood contemplating these 
idols, I could not help wondering how many lifeless human 
victims had been laid at their feet, in the hope of conciliating 
the spirits of the deities which were supposed to hover around 
the inanimate wood. How many a poor wretch had knelt, as 
he felt the gushings forth of his own immortality, and breath- 
ed his prayers to these helpless objects ; and yet he arose from 
his knees with a greater agony, a darker mind, and a soul 
more intensely crushed. ! who shall tell how many hearts 
have thus bled, how many bitter tears have been shed, how 
many spirits have thus writhed in bitter agony during the 
days of pagan darkness. Yet these were once thy gods, Ha- 
waii ! and these were the tortures levied by an accursed hi- 
erarchy upon thy abject and confiding children ! 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

FROM LAHAINA TO WAI-LU-KU. 

Crossing the Mountains. — Isthmus of Kula. — Maui formerly two 
Islands. — Village of Wai-ka-pu. — "Wai-lu-ku and Yalley. — Terrific 
Battle-ground. — Old Battle-ground of Kahului. — Hawaiian " Gol- 
gotha." — A Cranium Hunter. — Curiosity of the Natives. — Modern 
Superstitions. — Doctrine of the Resurrection studied over the 
Bones of Warriors. — "Why the Doctrine is difficult to believe. 

From Lahaina to Wai-lu-ku there is little to interest a su- 
perficial traveler. A man must be prepared for a dry, dusty, 
and rugged road, leading chiefly along the sea-shore. 

On passing over the plains of Oloalu, a few ravines open 
on the left. The scenery at this spot is perfectly gorgeous. 
There are times — one of which I experienced — when the wind 
bursts through these ravines in gusts of such violence as al- 



MAUI FORMERLY TWO ISLANDS. 399 

most to unhorse a very experienced horseman. They have 
sometimes proved destructive to houses, canoes, and even ves- 
sels within their reach. The natives call these winds Mu- 
muku. 

The road leading over the mountains is surrounded with a 
wild and romantic interest. The traveler frequently passes 
along the edge of a deep ravine, or climbs along the side of a 
lofty ascent. He may meet a bare-limbed native mounted on 
an ill-fed horse, which he is urging at a regular break-neck 
speed across the fearful ravines. Occasionally a wild bullock 
may stand hi the path, as if about to dispute the horse's pas- 
sage ; but, on nearing him, he is certain to run away at the 
top of his speed. The continuous ascent of these mountains 
is very fatiguing — their descent is equally the same. 

This mountain-region once passed, the traveler enters on 
the plain or isthmus of Kula. It is a sandy alluvial, con- 
stantly changing the configuration of its surface beneath the 
action of heavy winds. This neck of land has a gradual ele- 
vation from the sea-shore on the southwest, to nearly two hund- 
red feet on the northeast, in the region of Wai-lu-ku. In ex- 
tent it is seven miles by twelve. During three fourths of the 
year it forms a fine pasture-land for hundreds of cattle that 
range over its surface. It is not fit for cultivation. 

The island of Maui is geographically divided into east and 
west. The physical conformation of the isthmus of Kula, and 
the configuration of the two divisions of the island, plainly es- 
tablish the conviction that Maui was formerly two islands. 
The character of the isthmus is mainly alluvial ; but it re- 
tains a large quantity of volcanic sand, ashes, and scoriae, in- 
terspersed with huge boulders and projections of lava, which 
were thrown out of the craters in the neighboring mountains 
in generations past. The formation of this isthmus has formed 
a natural unity between the two islands. In its general out- 
line, Maui represents a human bust well defined. 

The first village of any note on the way to Wai-lu-ku is 
Wai-ka-pu. It contains a population of about five hundred. 
Here the forces of Kamehameha the Great once assembled 



310 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

for battle at the sounding of the conch-shell. Hence its name, 
Wai-ka-pu (water of the conch or trumpet). 

The district of Wai-lu-ku is composed of upland and valley. 
The soil is rich and well watered. Wai-lu-ku village stands 
at the mouth of the valley bearing the same name. This 
village, like Wai-ka-pu, is somewhat scattered. It once con- 
tained the principal female seminary on the group, and thou- 
sands of dollars have been expended on its support. One of 
its leading features once was, "to educate the daughters of 
Hawaii as wives for the young men who were educated at 
Lahainaluna," and to keep them in the institution until they 
ivere married. To a limited extent, this avowed design has 
been carried out. Like the seminary at Lahainaluna, it has 
proved a grand failure, " and the daughters of Hawaii" have 
been, in a great measure, abandoned to take care of them- 
selves. Its former lay-teacher, Mr. Bailey, has found a more 
lucrative occupation under the Hawaiian government. The 
boasted "Central Female Boarding Seminary" at Wai-lu-ku 
has dwindled away, or given place to one of more limited ca- 
pacity, called " Mrs. Grower's Family School." In his An- 
nual Report for 1852, the Minister of Public Instruction states 
its capacity thus : "Number of scholars, seventeen; ten pure 
whites, six half whites, one native. The school is support- 
ed by the parents ; the usual English primary branches are 
taught : pronunciation, spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, 
grammar, and music." 

There is a substantial church at Wai-lu-ku, built entirely 
by natives. Its dimensions are one hundred feet by fifty. 
The walls are composed of vesicular lava. 

But the valley at the back of the village is the chief object 
of attraction to the traveler. It is commonly called the " Wai- 
lu-ku Pass," and bisects West Maui, terminating in a deep 
gorge in the precincts of Lahaina. This "Pass" is threaded 
with much fatigue and some danger, but the tourist is amply 
repaid for all his toil. Prospects more picturesque and awful- 
ly grand are seldom seen by the 'most universal traveler. 
Here volcanic action and the subterranean convulsions of Na- 



TERRIFIC BATTLE-GROUND. 3^3 

ture must have been terrific. The sides of the "Pass" are 
reared perpendicularly to a height of several hundred feet. 
The River lao wends its way, with a thousand gentle mur- 
murs, among masses of fallen rock and tropical plants of a 
highly interesting character, among which I noticed a splen- 
did Lobelia. 

Up this " Pass" there is a narrow foot-path, winding, in 
many places, along the very brink of tremendous precipices. 
This narrow pass was once a battle-field of Kamehameha the 
Great. The old conqueror sailed from Hawaii to wage war 
against Kahekili, King of Maui, but met the monarch's son, 
Kalanikupule, instead. On the very brink of these preci- 
pices the two armies met. Retreat by either party was im- 
possible, and the limited space of the field rendered the con- 
flict desperate. For a long time the fortune of war was du- 
bious. Warrior after warrior, of both parties, and face to face 
in deadly struggle, or close locked in a mutual embrace, and 
amid the shouts of victors and the groans of the vanquished, 
rolled over the brink of the frightful abyss. At length Kam- 
ehameha prevailed. Many of the pursuers and the pursued, 
in the eagerness of flight and pursuit, fell over the precipice 
and were dashed to pieces. There were many annihilated 
by every species of barbaric warfare. Numbers took refuge 
in the mountains, where they were reduced by starvation. 
Kahekili' s army was annihilated, and Prince Kalanikupule 
fled to Oahu. So terrible was the carnage, that the progress 
of the River lao was arrested. It was from this incident that 
Wai-lu-ku (water of destruction) derived its appellation. This 
victory left Kamehameha the undisputed sovereign of Maui, 
Lanai, and Molokai. For years afterward, this engagement 
was well known by three appellations : Kapani-wai (stop- 
ping the water), Kaitau-pali (battle of the precipice), and 
lao (the name of the stream). 

Leaving Wai-lu-ku, and passing along toward the village of 
Kahului, a distance of three miles, the traveler passes over 
the old battle-ground named after the village. It is distinctly 
marked by moving sand-hills, which owe their formation to 





314 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

the action of the northeast trades. Here these winds Mow 
almost with the violence of a sirocco, and clouds of sand are 
carried across the northern side of the isthmus to a height 
of several hundred feet. These sand-hills constitute a huge 
" Golgotha" for thousands of warriors who fell in ancient bat- 
tles. In places laid bare by the action of the winds, there 
were human skeletons projecting, as if in the act of struggling 
for a resurrection from their lurid sepulchres. In many por- 
tions of the plain whole cart-loads were exposed in this way. 
Judging of the numbers of the dead, the contests of the old 
Hawaiians must have been exceedingly bloody. 

To myself these remains had no small degree of interest. 
No hand, whether of friend or foe, seemed to be employed in 
collecting these broken skeletons for reinterment. On the 
contrary, many a strange visitor had passed over these tumu- 
li, and carried away just such portions of the dead as best 
suited him to remote regions of the earth. As I glanced at 
those mounds, and thought of the condition of their lifeless ten- 
ants, I could not help thinking of " Hamlet's" celebrated col- 
loquy on the remains of his friend " Yorick :" 

u Ham. ' To what base uses we may return, H'oratio ! Why may 
not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he find it 
stopping a bung-hole V 

" Hor. ' 'Twere to consider too curiously to consider so.' 
"Ham. ' No, faith, not a jot ; but to follow him thither with mod- 
esty enough, and likelihood to lead it; as thus: Alexander died, 
Alexander was buried, Alexander returned to dust; the dust is 
earth : of earth we make loam ; and why of that loam, whereto he 
was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel ? 

Imperious Caesar, dead, and turned to clay, 
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away ; 
O that the earth, which kept the world in awe, 
Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw !' " 

Although I could not reconcile my mind to the belief that 
a removal of any of these remains would be exactly right, I 
could not resist the inclination to procure a few perfect crani- 
ums. This " Golgotha," however, afforded no such speci- 
mens Calling at a store in the village of Kahului, I bor- 



CURIOSITY OF THE NATIVES. 3^5 

rowed a shovel to aid me in my researches. As I rode a short 
distance to the eastward beyond the village, that shovel, dan- 
gling from my saddle-bow, sent forth such sepulchral notes as 
seemed to chide my resolves. But I rode on. Arriving at the 
eastern extremity of this old battle-ground, I took off coat and 
vest, for the weather was intensely warm. 

The openness of the plain caused my operations to be seen 
by a few natives, who lived on the sea-shore, at the distance 
of a short mile. An ever-restless curiosity brought them to 
the scene of my excavations, but they manifested not the least 
concern on account of my sacrilegious acts. For some time I 
dug in silence. It was an actual relief when a native woman, 
deeming that I had no other employment but hunting for cra- 
niums, very emphatically termed me " ha po Kanaka" (the 
skull man). However appropriate the appellation might seem 
in its application to myself under the circumstances, I confess it 
sounded peculiarly harsh and ungrateful ; nor was it at all less- 
ened in its sepulchral signification as my shovel came in con- 
tact with a huge thigh-bone or humerus ; but, graceless fellow 
that I was, neither the reproaches of conscience, nor the title 
testowed on me by native wit, nor the sepulchral notes pro- 
duced by my shovel, could for a moment deter me from my 
sepulchral excavations. I seriously question whether the dis- 
tinguished Spurzheim, or any other phrenologist, could have 
been more industrious than I was at that moment. Dig I 
would, and dig I did, until I found my efforts were all in vain. 
I discovered a few decomposed vertebrae, and some imperfect 
craniums, which crumbled to dust by an exposure to the at- 
mosphere. Little did these old warriors, when living, dream 
that a stranger from a distant land would one day dig and 
delve among their remains for a physiological relic. 

From time immemorial, the Hawaiians have regarded the 
dead with a profoundly superstitious awe. As the civilized 
school-boy, and many adults even at this day, when passing 
a rural cemetery, too frequently converts every object into some 
horrible phantom, and goes along singing or whistling some 
popular air, merely to keep his " courage to the sticking- 



316 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

place," so the Hawaiian, imagining that the spirit of the de- 
parted yet lingers around the rotting dust, carefully shuns at 
night their places of interment. Of these superstitions many 
of the merchants on the group have taken a decided advant- 
age. It is not uncommon for them to place one or two cra- 
niums in some prominent place in their stores. This precau- 
tion is an unfailing safeguard against all burglarious actions 
on the part of the natives. 

Over the bones of exhumed warriors is the best of all loca- 
tions to study the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. 
The difficult questions, " How are the dead raised up ? And 
with what body do they come ?" is by no means modern. 
These questions have been objected to, and answered, on the 
bases of animal, vegetable, and metaphysical science. The 
ablest intellects have examined it, and discussed, with a mas- 
terly success, its absolute certainty. The love which has its 
birth in the strongest of earthly ties, and sends its hallowed 
contemplations through the portals of eternity, freely admits 
it. The resurrection of the dead is a truism which commends 
itself to the embrace of reason, and it is supported both by 
analogy and Revelation. Not less has it been admitted by 
the myths of Indian and Persian theology. 

Logic is a species of reasoning, but it may not at all times 
accord with the plain dictates of reason. A logical test of 
this difficult doctrine commonly flings around it an impervious 
cloud, an absolute impracticability. While turning over the 
crumbling remains of those old warriors, I could not but con- 
clude that, like other men, they had once thought, and willed, 
and acted. They once had their hopes and fears, their joys 
and sorrows. On this sandy plain they had shed their blood, 
and laid down their lives in battle ; and they left behind them 
a few, at least, who would mourn their absence, and cling, 
with a strong sympathy, to their memory. Some of the re- 
mains of their warriors have a place in every physiological 
collection in Europe and America ; a hand in one place, a 
foot in another, and a cranium in another. It can not be de- 
nied that this dismemberment over thousands of miles imparts 



BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION. 3^7 

a complex aspect to the subject, and holds out the strongest 
improbability of their reunion. But thoughts can not die, 
for they are sparks struck out from the depths of eternity. 
And yet these remains were once actuated by thought, volition, 
and love for somebody. And the love of the meanest slave, 
not less than that of the most exalted potentate, is as immor- 
tal as heaven. 

To the mere philosopher, therefore, it is no wonder that 
this theme becomes a Gordian knot which all his reasonings 
fail to unravel. Let but the faith which Revelation teaches 
be grasped, and the difficulty vanishes, and the Gordian knot 
is severed and scattered into irreparable fragments. This is 
the key which unlocks the resources of the universe, and rolls 
back the long night of ages from the grave. And it is on this 
foundation, as on the throne of eternity, that man may defy 
the dissolving universe to quench his immortality, or shake his 
trust in God. 



CHAPTER XXY. 

EAST MAUI. 

Makawao. — Sugar Plantations. — Cultivation of Wheat. — Indian 
Corn. — The Irish Potato. — Agricultural Lands. — Land Monopoly. 
— The Non-taxation System. — Kindness of Foreigners to the Trav- 
eler. — Ascent of Mauna Hale-a-ka-la. — Atmospheric Regions. 
— Unexpected and unwelcome Visitors. — Vastness. of the Crater. 
— Sense of Cold. — Splendor of the Sun-light. — " Ossian's" Address 
to the Sun. — View from the Summit of the Crater. — Glory of the 
€louds. — The Soul's Emotions. — Man immortal. — God omnipotent. 

East Maui embraces more than two thirds of the entire 
island, and is by far the most attractive portion. After leav- 
ing the Isthmus of Kula there is a gradual ascent to Maka- 
wao, which is elevated nearly two thousand feet above the sea. 

In its dwellings and population Makawao is a scattered dis- 
trict ; but in point of beauty, location, and capacity of its soil, 
it ranks with any on the group. 



318 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

In this region I found several fine sugar plantations. The 
crops do not mature so rapidly as on Kauai, but they produce 
a superior quality of sugar. The planters concluded that the 
causes of this difference originated in the lower temperature 
of the climate ; that the cane does not tassel as in the lower 
regions, and that, at this elevation, the soil is not so heavily 
impregnated with salt. Within a few years past, the cultiva- 
tion of wheat has received considerable attention. The wheat 
used for seed has been procured from Sidney and Oregon, from 
which abundant crops have been raised. The usual number 
of bushels to a single acre is twenty-five, but as many as thir- 
ty have been realized. The agricultural resources of East 
Maui are rapidly developing. The wheat crop in the harvest 
season of 1853 turned out some two thousand bushels of an 
excellent quality. It was the intention to reserve most of this 
crop for seed, and twenty thousand bushels was anticipated as 
the yield for 1854. 

The amount of land on East Maui and on Hawaii has led 
to the hope that the time is not distant when, for home con- 
sumption, if not for export, the flour of the Hawaiian Steam- 
mill Company will take the place of Richmond, Gallego, and 
Haxall, by far the largest portion of which comes into market 
in a damaged condition. It is only occasionally that a ship 
brings flour around the Cape perfectly sweet ; it is more fre- 
quently sour, and often musty withal, and, of course, greatly 
deteriorated in money value as well as healthful qualities. 

It was in May that I first visited Makawao. Such was the 
nature of the climate and the capacity of the soil, that, had the 
season not been unusually rainy, there would then have been 
crops ready for the sickle. 

Here the Indian corn crops attain great perfection. 

The Irish potato is cultivated to a large extent. In no part 
of the world are its qualities and size generally surpassed. A 
golden harvest has been raised by exporting large quantities 
to California when the mines of wealth were first announced 
to the world. 

The only obstacle of a serious nature in the way of the 



CLIMATE-LANU MONOPOLY. ;}] cj 

planter is a small caterpillar called the " pelua." Sometimes 
its ravages are very destructive. Like the locusts of Egypt, 
but not so numerous, it marches forth, destroying every leaf, 
but more commonly the roots of the grain. No agent for its 
destruction has yet been discovered. 

I have already hinted at the nature of the climate in this 
region. It is delicious to leave one's couch at early daylight, 
and stand and inhale the balmy air as it comes in from the 
ocean, or sweeps down the mighty slopes of the contiguous 
mountain. Under such influences, a man feels years younger, 
and he is almost tempted to wish he were a child again, so 
that he might chase the butterfly from flower to flow T er. He 
wanders among whole groves of the rose and the bloody ge- 
ranium (Geranium sangui?ieum), towering to a height of 
four to seven feet, breathing forth almost celestial odors. He 
stretches forth his hands, and plucks a peach so luscious and 
blooming that it really seems a sort of violence to deface it by 
eating. The pure dew-drops are pendant from every bough, 
and these delicate tears of night drop on your hair, hands, and 
drapery with all the sweetness of a lover's kiss. Think of 
this, before breakfast ! while thousands in our cities are buried 
in sleep — and in the month of May ! 

The extent of agricultural lands on East Maui covers about 
a hundred thousand acres, eight thousand of which were al- 
ready taken up in plantations. But there were thousands of 
acres of the best of the soil reposing in a state of nature, for 
those who monopolized them had never put a plowshare in a 
single acre. 

If there is an evil which has retarded the progress of civil- 
ization, and precluded habits of industry among the native pop- 
ulation in remote districts, it is this land monopoly. The lands 
themselves are useless, and their owners worse than useless, 
for they are consumers only, and do nothing in the shape of 
production, unless it be hi that line usually denominated the 
genus homo. 

This land monopoly is encouraged by a non-taxation ; hence 
the evil becomes two-fold. The treasury loses by the latter, 



320 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



the mass of the people by the former. I have already referred 
to the necessity of a tax judiciously imposed on all parties in- 
discriminately. Nor can I here avoid a reiteration of the same 
sentiment. The sales of lands on different portions of the 
group have already been a source of benefit to the finances of 
the nation. 3 ^ Properly conducted, the real-estate system would 
be of still greater benefit. In his annual report for 1852, the 
Minister of Finance did all he could to prevent taxation of real 
estate. He said that " a property tax, owing to the peculiar 
state of the islands, will be a difficult and expensive one to 
collect." It might have been much less " difficult and expen- 
sive" if the minister himself had not been in possession of 
large estates. A written Constitution and Code of Laws have 



* SALES OF REAL ESTATE. 

The number of Royal Patents granted during the present year 
is 344: 

To aliens 25 

To subjects 319 

By the annexed table can be seen the number of acres sold on 
each island, and the gross amount of their price : 

Islands. Acres. Amount. 

Oahu 15,161 $19,115 20 

Maui 9,337 11,921 86 

Hawaii 3,196 3,490 68 

Kauai 2,446 2,699 58 

Molokai 1,371 439 00 



31,518 $44,352 32 

— From the Report of the Minister of the Interior for 1851. 

Owing to mismanagement on the part of the officers of the Land 
Commission, the report for 1852 shows a serious decline in the re- 
ceipts for the sale of public lands : 

THE SALES OF REAL ESTATE. 
Patents for Land Sold, executed during' the Nine Months ending Dec. 31, 1852. 





Whole 

Number of 

Patents. 


For Land 
Sold. 


Acres. 


Price. 


Patented 

at Nominal 

Prices. 


Acres. 


Hawaii 

Maui 

Molokai 

Oahu 

Kauai 

Total 


249 
30 

4 
38 

6 


247 
24 

4 
37 

6 


18,795 45 

1,409 00 

262 35 

6,897 94 

134 50 


$ Cts. 

17,511 98 

2,147 29 

155 00 

6,680 90 

87 00 


2 
6 

1 


1,096 84 
3,043 95 

46 


327 


318 


27,499 24 


26,582 17 


9 


4,141 25 



KINDNESS OF FOREIGN RESIDENTS. 321 

effected some improvement in the condition of the nation. But 
the reins of government have been held by one or two individ- 
uals who have too long dictated terms to that puppet of a king, 
whose will, most unfortunately, has been merged in their own. 
This extraordinary course has been induced by self-interest on 
the part of some of the ministry, whose only aim has been ever 
to aggrandize themselves, and impoverish the king and his na- 
tive subjects. 

But a truce to these political elements. Let us turn aside, 
and converse with one of Nature's landmarks. 

And yet, before conversing with the good old dame, I must 
linger for a moment to notice the kindness of the foreign res- 
idents to the traveler. I was deeply sensible of this fact be- 
fore leaving Makawao. No matter how far a man has trav- 
eled in the course of the day, nor how rude his externals may 
be, the welcome he receives by the family of a foreigner he 
can never forget. This generous spirit is rife both in mission- 
ary and lay families. But, to appreciate it fully, a man must 
have been out for several days in the interior, among semi- 
civilized natives, where his very soul loathed their filthy food 
and their filthy selves — where he dare not touch their water- 
calabashes with his lips for fear of a contagious disease, and 
where he may have fasted a day or two from compulsion. 
After such a tour, let him return to a civilized family — a fam- 
ily of foreigners. Let him gaze on a parlor scrupulously neat 
and clean — every thing in its place. Let him take his seat 
at a table covered with linen of a snowy whiteness, and sup- 
plied with plain and good cheer for the " inner man." At the 
same table there may sit one or two interesting women, doing 
the " honors" with an irresistible grace, whose faces almost 
grow into smiles of ineffable sweetness, and whose words are 
soft and delicious as an evening zephyr. As the day glides 
away, she tells you of" life on the islands/' and gives you il- 
lustrations of native character ; and then, like a true woman, 
she kindly inquires into your health, your general welfare, and 
your general self. 

Night covers that dwelling with its dark wings. You are 

02 



322 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

shown to a sleeping apartment where the bed-drapery rivals 
the whiteness of winter's snows. For a moment you stand 
buried in contemplation. The spell departs. You unrobe 
yourself with a motion somewhat mechanical. Out goes the 
light, and you slip into the pure sheets, aired and spread for 
your special comfort. You would not change your position 
for the " Paradise" of the Prophet — even if you could go there. 
Your thoughts wander away to the circles of the loving and 
the loved : you are once more in the land of brave men and 
of lovely women ; you think of its mighty rivers, its fields of 
plenty, its populous and enterprising cities, its everlasting 
mountains — the emblems of our freedom — and as sleep begins 
to steal over your senses, you are led to exclaim, from the deep- 
est sympathies of your soul, " My country-women ! God bless 
them forever !" 

But to return to Nature. After a night of refreshing sleep, 
I started from Makawao at an early hour to ascend Mauna 
Hale-a-ka-la (house of the sun). My worthy host wished 
me to adjourn my intentions for a day or two, for the purpose 
of furnishing me with a guide ; but my impatience would 
brook no delay ; and, besides, I had seen sufficient of the in- 
tense stupidity of native guides. 

From the starting-place it was fifteen miles to the summit ; 
but, in reality, it seemed within a few minutes' walk. I fol- 
lowed a narrow path for some distance up the mountain, un- 
til it became lost in almost endless bullock-paths, which were 
not a little perplexing. My only alternative now was to keep 
my eye fixed on some prominent object on the summit, and 
travel directly toward it. Pursuing this course, I soon enter- 
ed some young groves of koa (Acacia falcata). Evidently 
much larger groves, containing gigantic specimens of this 
beautiful tree, had flourished .here at an earlier day. Here 
and there, on isolated hills much exposed to the action of the 
strong winds, stood a few solitary trees, all sapless and with- 
ered. In other places, huge koas, which appeared to have 
been torn up by their roots by the fierce embrace of some re- 
lentless tempest, lay rotting and bleaching, like forsaken skel- 



ASCENT OF MAUN A H A L E - A - K A - L A. ;32:j 

etons, in the rain and the sunbeams. Numerous ravines 
were nearly filled with the foliage of the silvery ku-kui (Al- 
eurites triloba). There were thousands of bushels of wild 
strawberries, that needed only a few hours of sunshine to rip- 
en them. In this region the limbs of the trees were fantas- 
tically clad with a fine and luxuriant moss, that causes them 
to appear several times more than their real dimensions ; and 
amid these fantastic trappings of Nature, the gorgeous crim- 
son creeper (Cirthia sanguinia) was sporting from limb to 
limb. 

When I commenced the ascent, the slopes were entirely 
free from clouds ; but at this point they rubbed the slopes of 
the mountains so closely, that frequent showers fell, and my 
way became almost indiscernible. Occasionally a fugitive 
sun-ray would pierce the gathering mists ; again a heavier 
cloud would sweep past, spreading a gloomier tinge over ev- 
ery object. Already had my thermometer fallen 12°. The 
rains were growing chilly. My path was more difficult. The 
increasing rarefaction of the atmosphere had a strong tenden- 
cy to nervous depression. 

During the intervals of scattered. clouds, I obtained a few 
casual glances at the wild bullocks that ranged this region of 
the mountain. Those glances were freely exchanged, and 
they betokened no good- will at my disturbance of their sav- 
age and solitary retreats. It was with no small degree of 
satisfaction that I saw them erect their tails, stretch out their 
powerful necks, and trot away. 

But my anxiety was relieved only to be more intensely 
tested. Scarcely had these wild cattle disappeared, when a 
troop of wild dogs crossed my path. There were more than 
a dozen of them ; and there they stood, like so many hungry 
devils, ready to pounce on my horse, or myself, or both of us 
together, casting at us their fiery glances, and sending forth 
their Cerberean yells. Not anticipating a visit from their ca- 
nine majesties, I was there completely at their mercy. Sincere- 
ly did I wish for a "Colt's revolver," or a good sabre ; but 
as I knew that merely wishing would avail nothing, I felt it 



324 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

would be prudent to be active in dispelling their hopes. There 
was no club which chance might have cast in the way, but 
there were plenty of rugged lava-stones strewn around ; so, 
amid their infernal music, I dismounted, losing 'one leg of my 
nondescripts in the act of doing so, and began to storm them 
with missiles. To myself, it was a novel mode of assaulting 
a brute, or a band of brutes rather ; but, by dint of peltings 
and shouts, I at length succeeded in dispersing this unfriendly 
mob. 

Beyond the regular region of vegetation and the clouds, 
commenced the region of boulders. This was at a height of 
eight thousand feet above the sea. The ascent in this spot 
was literally covered with a shower of lava stones, and ridges 
of lava precipitous and rugged. At intervals there were a few 
stunted bushes of sandal- wood ( Santalum frey dnetiarum), 
Composites, Vaccinium, and JE]iacris, struggling for life amid 
the dense solitude. 

Within two miles of the summit, my tired horse refused to 
carry me any farther. I dismounted, and secured him to a 
small wiry shrub, but not without a few misgivings of those 
rascally dogs. From this point I was compelled to plod along 
on foot. Alternately climbing, slipping, and resting, after a 
space of two hours I reached the summit of the crater. 

But what a prospect ! Could I attain ten times the age of 
Methuselah, I could never forget the overwhelming mag- 
nificence of the scene that burst upon me in a single moment ! 
I stood there, spell-bound to the spot. Every sense of fatigue 
was in a moment forgotten. I looked, and pondered, and 
looked again, as I stood on the brink of the greatest of all 
quiescent craters, and I felt that I was nothing and less than 
nothing. 

It is only by actual measurement that the immense dimen- 
sions of this crater can be ascertained. From the point where 
I stood, a huge pit, two thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
three feet deep, and nearly thirty-five miles in circumference 
— capable of burying three cities as large as New York — 
opened before me. The sides, in some places, were a perfect 



VASTNESS OF THE CRATER. 335 

wall ; in others, abutments of lava rocks, partially incased in 
slopes of red and black lava sand. The bottom of the abyss 
was a wide field of lava in the first stage of decomposition, 
and on it were superimposed fourteen distinct cones or chim- 
neys, composed of scoria, some of which were six hundred feet 
high, but which, from the top of the crater, appeared to be 
nothing more than mere mounds of sand and ashes. From 
where I stood I could overlook the funnel-shaped tops, partially 
filled with loose sand. There was a certain freshness about 
them that caused them to look as if they had just expended 
their last fires, or were merely reposing to gain new strength 
preparatory to another deluge of devastation. Had it not been 
for the canopy of heaven shining down upon it, I should al- 
most have concluded that it was the identical Pluto, spoken 
of in classic fable, where the smutty Vulcan forged flaming 
thunder-bolts for Jove. 

On the east and north were two enormous gaps forced 
through the solid wall of the crater. It would seem that 
during eruptions — and probably the very last — the enormous 
sea of liquid lava must have accumulated to a depth (or height 
rather) of more than a thousand feet. Terrible indeed must 
have been the scene at such a moment ! Wave must have 
rolled on after wave, surging against the sides of the mighty 
prison-house in search of an escape. Millions on millions of 
tons accumulated thus. Unable any longer to restrain the 
impetuous ravings of the dreadful hell beneath, the wall east- 
ward and northward gave way beneath its pressure, and the 
fiery flood was hurled with fearful velocity down the steep 
slopes into the sea. Surpassing every thing that this world 
has ever witnessed, or the mind of man conceived, must have 
been this crater when in a state of activity. And it only 
needed that Virgil and Homer should have caught one 
glimpse of it to have earned an immortality beyond that they 
already possess. 

On the highest point of the crater the temperature was 32°, 
and on the floor of the crater, 75°. The thermometer ranged 
at 81° at sunrise, when I started out for the ascent. The ex- 



326 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ertion of climbing these rugged steeps iuduced a free perspira- 
tion. On the summit the change I experienced in a few hours 
was a depression of 49° in the atmospheric temperature. My 
wet clothes clung to me like an icy mantle, and the sudden- 
ness of the change produced an intense physical depression, 
and a slight hemorrhage at my nose. But these difficulties 
fled as I commenced the descent of the crater. On looking, 
from the highest point, down into the bottom of the abyss be- 
low me, I noticed a cluster of objects which looked about the 
size and brightness of silver dollars ; but on reaching the bot- 
tom, what was my surprise on finding they were a grove of 
those beautiful Alpine plants called the silver sword (Ensis 
argentea), growing to a height of six or seven feet, and shining 
like silver. 

On the summit of Hale-a-ka-la the sunlight was perfect. 
I had seen the sun from elevations far greater than this, but I 
had never seen it so purely bright as now. It seemed like one 
of the portals of the "third heavens" just opened to shed its 
surpassing glory on this lower world. At this moment I was 
not surprised at the genius of that splendid paganism which 
traced in the brightness of the sun's face the quintessence of 
all that was perfect in glory and goodness ; for, in a material 
sense, it seems but one remove from the uncreated light of the 
immaterial God. What intellect has not been elevated when 
contemplating this centre of the solar system ? What soul 
has not felt the gushings forth of the sublime and beautiful, as 
it looked through the eye of sense, and viewed this elder son 
of creation shaking an ocean of light from his blazing locks ? 
And were it not that mankind are, in part, blessed with a di- 
vine revelation, thousands, millions, yea, all might mistake the 
sun for its creator, and pay it divine homage. Among all the 
apostrophes to this glorious orb, there are few, if any, more nat- 
ural and eloquent than that of Ossian : 

" O thou that rollest above, round as the shield of my fathers ! 
Whence are thy beams, O sun ! thy everlasting light ! Thou comest 
forth in thy awful beauty ; the stars hide themselves in the sky ; the 
moon, cold and pale, sinks in the western wave ; but thou thyself 



VIEW FROM THE CRATER. 327 



movest alone. "Who can be a companion of thy course ? The oaks 
of the mountain fall; the mountains themselves decay with years; 
the moon herself is lost in heaven ; but thou art forever the same, 
rejoicing in the brightness of thy course. When the world is dark 
with tempests — when thunder rolls and lightning flies, thou lookest 
in thy beauty from the clouds, and laughest at the storm. But to 
Ossian thou lookest in vain, for he beholds thy beams no more, 
whether thy yellow hair flows on the eastern clouds, or thou treni- 
blest at the gates of the west. But thou art, perhaps, like me, for a 
season ; thy years will have an end. Thou shalt sleep in thy clouds, 
careless of the voice of the morning. Exult, then, O sun ! in the 
strength of thy youth. Age is dark and unlovely ; it is like the 
glimmering light of the moon when it shines through breken clouds 
and the mist is on the hills : the blast of the north is on the plain, 
the traveler shrinks in the midst of his journey." 

Not less beautiful than the sunlight was the view from the 
summit of the crater. I could overlook the clouds called cir- 
rus, and far below them were others of their brethren, but di- 
verse in character. Those clouds looked like an ocean of pol- 
ished silver. If it be true that 

" Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth 
Both when we sleep and wake," 

I could almost fancy that the silvery vapors below me were 
their intermediate dwelling-place. Far above them, by a nat- 
ural illusion, rose the lofty peaks of West Maui. On the east 
and southeast was the wide and eternal deep, whose horizon, 
so far away, seemed lost in the embrace of the vast upper 
ocean of firmament. Away to the southeast, at a distance of 
seventy-five to one hundred miles, respectively rose the sum- 
mits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, on Hawaii, with their 
broad crowns of snow glittering in the sunlight, and looking 
down, as if with a conscious pride, on the clouds which girdled 
their sides. The lofty and rugged cones — forming, at an early 
period, the natural vent-holes of the more external fires of the 
mountain — which I had passed in my ascent, dwindled away 
to the size of mere mounds. By the aid of a telescope I could 
just discern my horse, by his gray coat, standing patiently, as 
if awaiting my return. Makawao and the isthmus beyond 



328 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

seemed to be a perfectly smooth plain, for every undulation 
was lost in the distance below. 

It is on such an elevation as this that a man feels his own 
insignificance. The conscience becomes sensitive, and the soul 
— that inner being that constitutes the man ! — utters its might- 
iest and most holy aspirations. Here a man is entirely alone, 
or, at least, he should be, for he can not help reflecting. 
Here there is no trace of man, nor of his pigmy and perisha- 
ble works. The busy sounds of commerce, and the tread of 
millions of its votaries, are far away ; not even a fly cleaves 
the atmosphere with his wing. Not a sound falls on the ear, 
unless it be the soft moaning of the wind, sweeping up, like 
the notes of an iEolian harp, from the depths of the crater. 
I felt as though I was losing my own identity amid those 
overwhelming scenes and their associations. I seemed to stand 
on the portals of another world, or to cling, solitarily and sad- 
ly, to the wrecks of this, as if it were just emerging from the 
grave of a deluge. Like Caius Marius contemplating the 
ruins of Carthage ; like Volney holding converse with the 
fallen but beautiful Palmyra ; like Campbell's "Last Man" 
surveying the wrecks that old Time had flung over the lap of 
earth's mightiest nations, I was alone on that naked summit, 
where I felt like a child, listening to a voice within me that 
proclaimed my own destiny — my immortality. 

Man is immortal, or the earth is an incomprehensible mys- 
tery ; man a mere machine, and history an absurd fable. 
Wherever we go and are, this sublime and innate truth of the 
soul utters its voice, and points us to the skies, where immor- 
tality itself becomes immortalized. On the summit of Hale- 
a-ka-la, more than when treading the streets of forsaken and 
ruined cities, I was compelled to exclaim with the poet : 

" It must be so : thou reasonest well, 
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire 
Of falling into naught ? Why shrinks the soul 
Back on herself, and startles at destruction ? 
'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us : 
Tis Heaven itself that points out a hereafter, 
And intimates eternity to man!" 



TRIP TO HAWAII. 329 

The loftier the altitudes we ascend, the wider becomes the 
development of things around us. So, when the soul takes its 
flight from its mortal prison, there will be developments of 
which it cherished no previous conception. Existence here is 
but the bud of being — the dim dawning of our futurity — the 
vestibule to everlasting hopes. And as the last moments of 
life are surrounded with foretastes of what the future shall be 
to every man, so, doubtless, the very first step beyond life's 
threshold will be an introduction to futurity forever future ! 

The vast ruin of this ancient crater is a solid proof of the 
omnipotence of God. It is but one of the many of his foot- 
steps which are so plainly stamped on the bosom of universal 
nature. His breath kindled the ancient fires of this abyss, 
that spread such a sea of desolation around its sides. By his 
permission alone these wrecks were left to instruct and aston- 
ish the traveler. As I left that scene, I was led involuntarily 
to exclaim, " Who would not fear Thee, King of nations !" 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

ISLAND OF HAWAII. 

Trip to Hawaii. — The Schooner Manu-o-ka-wai. — Hawaiian Sailors. 
— Abuse offered to a Native Woman. — An unpleasant Position. — 
A stormy Sunday. — The snow-capped Mountains of Hawaii. — Ka- 
waihae. — Landing-place at Mahu-kona. — Mode of transporting 
Baggage. — District of Kohala. — Numerous Evidences of ancient 
Population. 

Hawaii is by far the largest island of the Sandwich group. 
It has long been, and now is, the theatre of volcanic action. 
It has been the birth-place of a long line of rival kings, and 
of generations that have passed away forever. 

These general associations are sufficient to allure the curi- 
ous and adventurous traveler to its bold and rugged shores. 
It was with some difficulty that I restrained my impatience 
to see it : and it was with no common enthusiasm that I em- 



330 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

barked on board of a Hawaiian schooner which would carry 
me thither. 

The blue skies were just beginning to blush with the gor- 
geous purple of departing day, as the Manu-o-ka-wai (Bird 
of the water) spread her sails and raised her anchor to leave 
the port of Lahaina for Hawaii. With an extensive cargo of 
passengers, a sufficient complement of seamen — among whom 
was a white man, who had so far forgotten his dignity as to 
turn " cook" and " steward" under the auspices of a dusky 
captain — and an almost endless assortment of calabashes filled 
with native food, and of water-melons, oranges, bananas, pigs, 
dogs, etc., that schooner, of about fifty tons, stood out to sea.. 
We had made but little progress, when the coming twilight 
brought a calm with it, and there, within sight of the town, 
we lay imprisoned nearlv all night. It is in such a situation 
as this, when hour drags along after hour, and the swell 
heaves the vessel in every possible position, that a passenger 
feels his own helplessness ; and he is ready to swear, by Nem- 
esis, that, should he ever set his foot again on the land, there 
he will remain, and no longer tempt the treacherous bosom 
of the deep. 

But, in spite of these occasional calms, there is little of mo- 
notony. There are so many ludicrous scenes constantly* oc- 
curring, that there is ample food for mirth and excitement. 
In all probability, the most perfect novelties on board are the 
men who compose the crew. In the strongest sense of the 
term, a Hawaiian sailor is the " creature of circumstances." 
During a calm, he is the calmest being in the world, for he 
invariably always falls into a slumber deeper than that which 
creeps over the ocean, and lulls the wave into a peaceful re- 
pose. A sudden breeze may possibly excite him, or leave him 
in a state of apathy. In any case, he may usually be seen 
squatting down on deck, with his arm thrown listlessly over 
the tiller, while he is smoking a pipe, gorging himself with 
water-melon, or holding a tete-a-tete with the nearest dark- 
eyed beauty. Under these circumstances, he is more likely to 
steer the schooner into the wind, and run the risk of having 



ABUSE OF A NATIVE WOMAN. 33I 

her driven down backward, than he is to steer her on her 
course, and so escape the danger. So lax is the authority of 
the captain, that a transient observer is liable to mistake him 
for one of his men, and so vice versa. 

But the singular deportment of these sailors formed not the 
only fund of variety on board that schooner. The principal 
share of it was produced by the mate of the vessel. This 
nautical hero was brother-in-law to the captain, through a 
marriage relation to his sister. When the mate came on 
board the schooner at Lahaina, he was well steeped in liquor. 
His first performance was 'to light his pipe, after which he 
commenced some disgusting familiarities with his " better 
half," and which she indignantly repelled. Her " lord para- 
mount" relapsed into a seeming indifference to every thing ex- 
cepting his pipe, and, when tired of smoking, he renewed his 
familiarities. His wife's temper now became irritated, and 
she gave him several heavy blows in the face, much to the 
amusement of the native passengers. But this pugilistic per- 
formance, and the merriment it drew forth at his expense, 
w T ere more than his nature could surmount. He very delib- 
erately went down into the cabin, put on another suit of 
clothes, came up on deck, and began, in the most villainous 
manner, to abuse his wife. With one hand he seized her by 
her hair, and with the other he dealt upon her face and bo- 
som the most furious blows. The woman screamed and plead 
for mercy, but he only showered his blows upon her with in- 
creasing vengeance. All this time his wife's brother, the cap- 
tain, stood against the main-mast smoking his pipe, and fold- 
ing his arms, and the passengers chuckled most boisterously 
over the suffering woman. This state of things gave this hu- 
man fiend courage to renew his cowardly insults. He seized 
her again by her hair, and dragged her across the deck with 
the intention of throwing her overboard ; but at this moment 
the hand of a foreign passenger held him by the throat, and 
the foreigner vowed, by the God of the land and the ocean, 
that unless he left that woman alone, he would inflict upon 
him. her fate. The thunder-struck mate dropped his victim, 



332 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

cursing the interference which ended his baseness — for, like 
the captain, he spoke some English. Such a disinterested act 
of noble and virtuous daring was something new to these Ha- 
waiians, and they stood mute in astonishment, while the poor 
insulted woman was left to lament herself to sleep. 

Such scenes as this are not uncommon. Some of these Ha- 
waiian " liege lords" are guilty of treatment to their wives, a 
delineation of which would draw tears of shame and sorrow 
from any hearts but their own. And, in truth, to what I have 
witnessed among the inhabitants on that group, I am compell- 
ed reiactantly to acknowledge that the Hawaiians treat their 
wives with no more fiendish cruelty than most of the low for- 
eigners do, who have married native women. 

A smooth breeze had sprung up about midnight, and by 
daylight next morning we were directly opposite the danger- 
ous Cape Pohakueaea, on East Maui. Once more the schoon- 
er was becalmed. In his carelessness, the captain had the 
schooner steered too close to the horrible-looking rocks which 
formed this cape, and as we were imprisoned in this calm, an 
inland current was rapidly carrying us toward the shore. The 
captain and crew seemed to care nothing about it, and the na- 
tive passengers were equally careless. The Hawaiians look 
upon the approach of death with remarkable indifference. 
Into its ghastly jaws we were speeding. I could have thrown 
a missile to the black rocks against which the heavy surge 
was thundering in sublime confusion. There was a prospect 
of a few struggles, a few stifled gasps, and an ocean grave ; 

for no 

" Strong swimmer in his agony" 

could have escaped being dashed to pieces on those rocks. But 
just as expectation was reaching its crisis, relief came. A 
few puffs of wind from the land carried the schooner toward 
the middle of the channel, where we were out of the danger 
of being wrecked ; but the heavy swell of the sea was such as 
seriously to test the strength of the schooner's ribs, as well as 
our own abdominal regions. 

Having passed this dangerous cape, we entered the Straits 



AN UNPLEASANT "FIX." 333 

of Alenuihaha, where we struck the northeast trades. These 
straits separate Maui from Hawaii. Although they are only- 
thirty miles wide, they are of great depth, and usually very 
stormy. From the hour we had left Lahaina, the weather 
had been too calm to permit our small craft to effect a rapid 
passage. Imprisoned as I was among seventy native passen- 
gers on that contracted deck, and the small-pox breaking out 
among them, not to say any thing of the effluvia of old wood- 
en tobacco-pipes, sun-dried fish, and sour poi, I was longing 
for a gale, or any thing which would bring to a close the hor- 
rors of the passage. I envied the deer in the forest, and the 
Bedouin on the wastes of Lybia, their liberty. It was not 
long, however, before my wish was gratified. The Straits 
soon became lashed into a foam, and the schooner's canvas 
was nearly all shortened. In a short time every passenger 
was ridding himself of his breakfast by an upward passage. 
It was a sort of fast-day with myself. Wishing to escape the 
sickening scenes that surrounded me, I took refuge in the 
small boat suspended at the schooner's stern, where, nearly all 
day, amid wind and spray, and under a scorching sun, I pre- 
served my fast from the previous noon. But it was a result 
of dire necessity, for I was the most sea-sick mortal in the 
company. 

Having been compelled to shorten sail, it was nearly sunset 
when we were within fifteen miles of the shores of Hawaii. 
It was at this spot that I first obtained a perfect view of the 
snow-capped mountains of the island. Among the loftiest of 
the Andes, looking from their thrones of clouds over the lap 
of a great continent, there is something so awfully grand, that 
a traveler can not but cherish emotions of reverence and won- 
der. It is so, too, in relation to 

" The Alps, 
The palaces of Nature, whose vast walls 
Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps, 
And throned eternity in icy halls 
Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls 
The avalanche — the thunder-bolt of snow ! 
All that expands the spirit, yet appals ; 



334 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

Gathers around those summits, as to show 
How earth may pierce to heaven, yet leave vain man below." 

But the snow-capped mountains of Hawaii are different from 
all these. A tourist stands and looks at them, and takes out 
his pencil to record his impressions in his note-book, and then 
he stops and looks again at the mountains, and again tries to 
record his thoughts, and, finally, he fails. Mauna Kea and 
Mauna Loa are before him, and, although miles and miles 
must be left behind before their summits can be reached, yet 
they seem but a short distance away. There is something 
about them so lovely, grand, and impressive, that I am com- 
pelled to term it the majesty of repose, and yet it is a repose 
which seems as if about to start into life, like Nature awak- 
ening from her nightly or her winter's slumbers. 

Next morning found the Manu-o-ka-wai anchored in the 
Bay of Kawaihae. I was not long in resolving to go ashore 
to see the village. There were several boats, owned by Ha- 
waiians, that came off to the schooner to carry away those of 
the passengers who wished to leave her at that village, and it 
was highly amusing to witness how those fellows fought among 
each other for the privilege of carrying them ashore, or, rather, 
earning a Spanish rial per passenger for their trouble. The 
first consolation the traveler seeks on landing from a Hawaiian 
vessel is usually a thorough ablution. This was a luxury I 
enjoyed that morning on landing from that hateful craft. 

The village of Kawaihae was the poorest and most cheer- 
less I have ever seen. Every thing around and in it wore an 
aspect of such stern desolation, that I could not but wonder 
that any human being, or even a wild goat, should find a place 
of abode there. There was nothing in the shape of refresh- 
ments which money could purchase from the natives — not even 
a cocoa-nut ; and had it not been that I was favored with a 
note of introduction to a foreign resident who lived near the 
house once occupied by John Young (the friend and counselor 
of Kamehameha the Great), I must have maintained my fast. 

As my destination was Iole, in the district of Kohala, I was 
compelled to resume my passage in the Manu-o-ka-wai at 



DISTRICT OF KOHALA. 335 

noon. The captain had pledged himself to land me at Mahu- 
kona, on his way to Hilo. After much labor, the landing was 
reached in the schooner's boat. 

The natives of this village gave me a kindly welcome, and 
manifested a deep interest in my welfare. I was il Ka Kana- 
ka maikai" (a good man), and every thing else that was 
"good." As these encomiums were bestowed on the suppo- 
sition that possibly I might have a few dollars about me, I 
received them at cost price, and returned them a few salams 
for their generosity. They cordially invited me to stay the 
night, for day was beginning to wane, and, as a 'special in- 
ducement, offered me the handsomest ferrmie in the village as 
an accompaniment to my couch ; but I respectfully declined 
all such offers. Had most of the people not been afflicted with 
syphilis, and arranged chiefly in Nature's costume, I should 
still have refused their solicitations. 

Having resolved on not staying there through the night, the 
next thing was to arrange for the transportation of my bag- 
gage. A Hawaiian has not the slightest idea of the value of 
time, and in this instance they were exceedingly dull of com- 
prehension. There was no alternative left but to look out a 
suitable pole, to which I slung my baggage with a bark rope 
made out of the hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus), and placed the 
whole on the shoulders of two natives, who went trotting off 
with it at a very respectable speed. In this way they set out 
for Iole, twelve miles distant, and as I could procure no horse, 
I was compelled to plod after them on foot. We reached Iole 
at a late hour in the evening, and just in time to get thorough- 
ly drenched with a heavy rain-storm. 

Kohala is the northern district of Hawaii, and forms one of 
the six divisions of the island. Before the group was brought 
under the sway of Kamehameha the Conqueror, this district 
was a petty kingdom, and had its consecutive list of monarchs. 
The lands are very fertile and extensive, and the soil rich, and 
it is well refreshed by fertilizing showers. 

If ancient landmarks are any evidence of past population, 
then the district of Kohala has been densely peopled. The 



336 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

entire region, covering more than three hundred square miles, 
is covered with these landmarks. Countless footpaths, wide 
enough for pedestrians in single file, but nearly overgrown with 
grass ; sites of villages, of various extent and in every location, 
and the small, elevated lines of demarkation— or, as the Ha- 
waiians would term them, na iwi (the bones of the land) — 
which showed the limits of landed property, were scattered 
over all the entire district. These village sites appeared to 
have been laid out so as to accommodate from fifty to five 
hundred, and in some places a thousand people. The real es- 
tate seems to have been laid out in lots ranging from a fourth 
of an acre to two or three acres, all starting from the mount- 
ains on the south, and running down to the sea-shore on the 
north. 

These evidences of ancient population led me to conclude 
that Cook's census of four hundred thousand inhabitants, scat- 
tered over the group of islands, was not, as some modern sta- 
tisticians have asserted, over-estimated. Here, in this very 
region, thousands on thousands have flourished at once, and 
many a generation of warriors have cultivated these lands, and 
enjoyed their indigenous productions, and gone back to v the 
same oblivion from whence they sprung. No pyramids com- 
memorate their architectural skill, no costly mausoleums mark 
their resting-places, no giant fortresses stand as monuments of 
their martial habits ; but these landmarks are sufficient indi- 
cations of their vast numbers, and also of their mysterious ex- 
tinction. The traveler finds no costly shrine to kindle a devo- 
tional spirit, or before which he may offer a passing memorial ; 
nor does he wander amid the astounding splendors of a Thebes, 
or a Luxor, or a Karnak, but there is something in the deep 
silence and desolation of Kohala which seems to say — 
" Stop ! for thy tread is on an empire's dust : 
A nation's spoil is sepulchred below!" 

And such is the wasted state of the modern population, that 
they seem to feel as if they almost intruded on the lands owned 
by their fathers. 



PAGAN TEMPLE AT PUUEPA. 337 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

A Visit to the Heiau of Puuepa. — Accursed Despotisms of Paganism. 
— Wholesale Slaughters. — Testimony of an old Pagan Priest. — Oc- 
ular Demonstration. — Solitude of the Ruins. — Public Works of a 
past Generation. — Graves of a forgotten Race. — Glances at De- 
population. — Causes, Past and Present. — New House of Worship 
at Iole. — Character of Missionaries. — Friends and Foes. — Import- 
ance and Necessity of an impartial Estimate by the Traveler. — 
Nature and Extent of Hostilities. 

The first object I visited after my arrival at Kohala was 
the celebrated heiau, or pagan temple at Puuepa, six miles to 
the northwest of Iole. It is the largest temple on the group, 
and is located within a few yards of the sea-shore. External- 
ly, its length is three hundred and fifty feet, its width one hun- 
dred and fifty feet. The walls are nearly thirty feet thick at 
the surface of the earth ; their thickness at the top, eight ; 
their average height, fourteen. I found the northeast wall in 
the best state of preservation. 

Tradition says that, at the time of its erection, all the in- 
habitants of the island were convened for the purpose, and 
that the stones of which it is composed were conveyed from 
the Valley of Polulu, a distance of twelve miles, by being pass- 
ed from hand to hand in single file by the workmen. Wheth- 
er tradition be true or not, it is certain that these stupendous 
works were reared when kings had absolute command over 
the lives and labors of their subjects, and when population 
was immensely numerous. The character of the stones form- 
ing these huge walls is volcanic. The solid materials of this 
heiau, including the altars, and allowing for their nature, would 
weigh nearly 2,000,000 tuns. 

Of the date of its erection there is no knowledge. Without 
doubt, however, it has stood for ages ; for the walls are nearly 
covered with a thick, coarse, and stunted moss — a species in- 

P 



338 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

dicative of age on the Hawaiian group. The inhabitants of 
the neighboring village have traditions of many of the scenes 
which have been enacted in this temple during the reign of 
some of their ancient kings, but the date of its origin is buried 
in oblivion. A few niches, once occupied by roughly-hewn 
idols, were still visible in the sides of the walls. In the north- 
east corner of the interior was a niche more perfectly formed 
than any of the others : it is said to have been the place occu- 
pied by the guardian deity of the temple. Portions of the 
walls were in a state of ruin, and so were the three rugged 
altars. 

It is impossible to sit on the walls of this temple, and not 
indulge thoughts peculiar both to time and place. On one 
hand, the heart sickens at the remembrance of the hellish 
atrocities ; on the other, a liberal mind rejoices that these deeds 
of blood have fled forever. It seemed impossible to believe 
that whole hecatombs of human beings were once immolated 
here, or that on this very spot the dearest family ties were 
severed by the high-priests of paganism. Yet on these very 
altars the child saw its father, the wife her husband, and pa- 
rents their sons, sacrificed to secure the favor of imaginary 
deities. 

The immolation of human beings was practiced on a whole- 
sale principle. Some were offered to gods which the people 
feared — others to deities which they professed to love. If an 
epidemic swept over the island — if the crops were not so abun- 
dant as usual — if the king of the district was going to war, 
or if he had returned from victory — if he was sick — if he re- 
covered — or if he died, at all and every one of these instances 
men were needed for sacrifice. Thousands on thousands, 
through successive generations, have been thus consigned to a 
bloody death. 

When I visited this spot there were persons living near who 
had witnessed the overthrow of their idols and the abolition 
of idolatry. One of them was a white-headed old man, who 
had acted as sub-priest at the very time of pagan worship in 
this temple He said he had witnessed hundreds of human 



OCULAR DEMONSTRATION. 339 

sacrifices, by tens at once, in the course of a few days, and 
that he had assisted on those occasions. The victims were 
permitted to remain on the central or principal altar during 
two whole days. On the morning of the third day, and when 
putrefaction had commenced, the bodies were removed to a 
large flat stone on the outside of the temple. This stone was 
placed near the east corner of the north wall. Its dimensions 
were seven feet long by five wide, and it was slightly con- 
cave. It was sacred to the purposes of immolation. When 
the victims above alluded fb were placed on it, the flesh was 
stripped from the bones, and the bones were all separated. 
Both flesh and bones were then carried down to the sea-side 
and thoroughly washed. On being conveyed back to the tem- 
ple, the bones were tied up in bundles, and the flesh was con- 
sumed to ashes at the back of the altars. 

There were men selected from among the people for the 
performance of these last rites. If they complied, they al- 
ways obtained grants of land from the king or chiefs, through 
the intercession of the high-priest ; but if they refused, directly 
the contrary was the result : their lands and personal property 
(did they already possess any) were taken from them, and they 
were marked out as the next victims for immolation. Doubt- 
less this union of king and priest, and this exaction of such 
bloody servitude, were the means through which such a hell- 
ish oppression was maintained. 

When this old priest had ended his narration, he pointed 
out the fire-place at the back of the central altar, in which 
he said the flesh of the victims was consumed. His testimony 
was fully established in the fact that the stones were covered 
with a vitreous coating — the result of frequent and intense 
calcination. And it is altogether improbable that this fire- 
place could have been used for any other purpose than the 
one he described. He then assured us that in the large niche, 
and under the stone-work which had once supported the prin- 
cipal idol, there were bundles of human bones. We employed 
three or four natives to remove a few of the stones and some 
of the rubbish, and we witnessed a verification of this state- 



340 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ment also. There were human remains in the last stage of 
decomposition. They were so brittle that they broke beneath 
the touch, and their position was indicative of the truth of all 
the priest had said in relation to them. 

But over this earthly pandemonium . a great change has 
swept. The life-blood of husband, father, brother, friend, 
shall never again redden these altars. The red right hand 
of the sacerdotal butcher is silent in the grave. The sub- 
priest who gave us these revelations is the only surviving 
member of the fraternity ; and hfe shuddered, as he spoke, at 
the mere remembrance of the scenes, the agony, the horrors 
once witnessed here. The eager crowds who once pressed 
these huge walls to behold pagan rites, and knew not who of 
themselves would be the next victims, and dared not to drop 
a visible tear for an immolated friend — those crowds, too, have 
passed away. All now was silence, and solitude, and ruin. 
A solitary castor-oil plant and a few noble stalks of tobacco 
clustered around those ruined altars ; and a few harmless liz- 
ards were the only living tenants of this forsaken temple, which 
was once deemed the dwelling-place of gods. Unless these 
huge walls should be carried away for purposes inherent in 
modern improvement — and such a step is not at all probable 
under the present system of government — they will stand for 
centuries as a monument of the diabolical oppression of a pa- 
gan hierarchy. 

But these huge temples were not the only public works in 
which the people were compelled to engage. Two miles 
southeast of the Mission Station at Iole, there is a water-course 
of no ordinary interest to an explorer. The fountain-head of 
this stream is at the termination of a deep ravine. To convey 
water over the surrounding district, it was necessary to have 
it brought from the head of this ravine, and thus turn it from 
its original channel. To achieve this object, an embankment 
seems to have been raised from the bed of the ravine to a 
height of nearly two hundred feet. "Where this embankment 
terminates, a channel has been hewn in the sides of the solid 
rock more than half a mile in length. To many a reader, such 



GLANCES AT DEPOPULATION. 34^ 

a work may appear altogether insignificant ; but when it is 
remembered that the only tools employed in this excavation 
were kois, or stone axes, and sticks of hard wood sharpened 
down to a point, the success of the workmen is as astonish- 
ing to a tourist as are the sculptures among the temples of 
the Nile to the modem traveler. In all probability, this may 
have been the work of some Hawaiian Mehemet Ali, in days 
when thousands of men could be levied to do the bidding of 
their despotic master. In view of the old mode of Hawaiian 
labor, and of the physical character of the abyss along which 
this stream is conducted, it may be considered as great a work 
for rude islanders as the Pyramids of Egypt were for the min- 
ions of the Pharaohs. The greatest wonder is that the Ha- 
waiians ever achieved such a work at all. 

I have already referred to numerous landmarks as indica- 
tive of the existence of a past race. But these are not the 
only evidences of ancient population. In the northeast por- 
tions of Iole, on the favorite grounds of Kamehameha the Con- 
queror, there are almost countless graves which look genera- 
tions old. The stones which cover the dust of these lon^-for- 
gotten dead are in a state of decomposition. Many of these 
sepulchral mounds have sunk on a level with the earth's sur- 
face, and are discovered from the fact that upon them the grass 
grows taller and more verdant. No hand guards the existence 
of these ancient dead. Nor is there any need of such precau- 
tion, for nothing obtrudes itself among them but the sighings 
of the winds of night, and they alone chant the requiems over 
these rude resting-places of a forgotten race. 

There is every evidence that not only Kohala, but every 
part of the island of Hawaii where soil and water may be 
found, has been densely peopled. Like multitudes of the 
North American Indians, myriads have passed away unknown 
and unlamented by the rest of the world. In the Sandwich 
Islands history is only of modern birth. In its infant dawn- 
ings it timidly glances at the depopulation of the native races. 

It may be interesting to glance at this theme and its 
causes. 



342 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

These causes may come under the distinctive terms of past 
and prese?it. 

Among the past were war, human sacrifices,^ oppressions 
by kings, priests, and chiefs, and drunkenness. But among 
the principal causes were — 

1. Indolence. — In pursuing this theme, I prefer using the 
language of the best and most reliable native historian :f 

" Another thing that tended to diminish the population was 
indolence (molowa). Neither men nor women had any de- 
sire to work ; therefore some lived a lazy, wandering life, or 
attached themselves to those who had property for the sake 
of sustenance. Many, however, died in the wandering state, 
for laziness is attended with more evils than can ever be 
named." 

But this evil seems to have been constitutional. It grew 
out of the nature of the climate, the bounty of Nature, and the 
uncertain tenure by which they held their possessions. This 
evil is fully portrayed by a late missionary authority : 

" During a certain eruption, as stated by Mr. Ellis, one of 
the rents or chasms made by it, emitting sulphurous smoke 
and flame, ran directly through the floorless and thatched hut 
of a native living at Kaimu. All the notice he took of it was 
merely to remove his sleeping mat a little distance from the 
chasm, and composed himself again to his slumbers. A stu- 
pid insensibility to every elevated idea and every elevated emo- 
tion is a trait of heathenism. If you wish to awaken their 

* " In the days of Umi, they said, that king, after having been 
victorious in battle over the kings of six of the divisions of Hawaii, 
was sacrificing captives at Waipio, when the voice of Kuahiro, his 
god, was heard from the clouds, requiring more men ; the king kept 
sacrificing, and the voice continued calling for more, till he had slain 
all his men except one, whom, as he was a great favorite, he refused 
at first to give up; but the god being urgent, he sacrificed him also, 
and the priest and himself were all that remained. Upward of 
eighty victims, they added, were offered at that time, in obedience 
to the audible demands of the insatiate demon." — Mlis's Tour through 
Hawaii, p. 337. 

f See Hawaiian Spectator, vol, ii., No. ii., Art. 1. 



GLANCES AT DEPOPULATION 343 

attention, present a calabash otpoi, a raw fish — or call them 
to some low, groveling, and sensnal sport. To them the per- 
fection of enjoyment is fullness of bread and abundance of 
idleness ; sleep by night, lounging by day, filthy songs and 
sensual sports." 3 * 

2. Pestilence. — This occurred while Kamehameha I. was 
residing at Oahu. It spread over the entire group, and the 
majority of the inhabitants were cut down by it. No proper 
care could be taken of the sick. Men perfectly well in the 
morning were dead in the evening. Persons who went to bury 
their neighbors were seized before this last office of friendship 
could be performed, and died themselves, without even return- 
ing to their homes. Hence many corpses remained unburied. 
This sickness, called kaiwkuu, greatly diminished the popula- 
tion. 

3. Abortion. — There were various reasons for the practice 
of this evil. One was a fear, on the part of the mother, that 
the father would leave her and seek another wife, or because 
neither sustained such a relation to the chief as to be supported 
by him, and in that case the relatives of the parents destroyed 
the child. On this account, but few women had any desire 
for children, and many had the contrary desire of not having 
them, and therefore drank such medicines as would prevent 
their becoming enceinte. Some absolutely denied themselves 
the conjugal benefits immediately resulting in the marriage 
state. So, also, some of the men desired children and some 
did not Hence arose the sin of sodomy. Numbers of cat- 
amites were retahied for unnatural purposes, and thousands 
of men died childless, never having cherished any female as- 
sociations. 

4. Infanticide was another means of decrease. It was so 
common that k had a parallel in no other country. Mothers 
destroyed their own children both before and after they were 
born. They regarded the care of them a burden ; they fear- 
ed, too, that their pleasures would be diminished and their 
personal beauty impaired. In some instances, an additional 

* Dibble's History, p. 115. 



344 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

motive was found in illegitimacy, and the consequent jealousy 
of their husbands. Hence they hardened their hearts, and, as 
if destitute of natural affection, killed their offspring. In lan- 
guage vivid as the light, Dibble portrays this horrible method 
of destroying children : 

" The child, perhaps, is sick, and troubles her with its moans 
and cries, and, instead of searching into the causes of its sor- 
row or attempting to alleviate its pains, she stifles its cries for 
a moment with her hand, thrusts it into the grave prepared, 
covers it with a little earth, and tramples it down while strug- 
gling yet in the agonies of death. But wait and look around 
a little, and you will find that this is not the first grave she 
has dug. Perhaps this may be the fifth or the seventh child 
that she has disposed of in the same way, and many of them, 
perhaps, from no better motives than to rid herself of trouble, 
or to leave herself more free for sensual pleasure and vicious 
indulgence."^ 

5. Licentiousness was another cause of depopulation. Hab- 
its of illicit intercourse were deemed necessary to the preser- 
vation of friendship and good feeling one to another. " These 
habits were often commenced at the age of two or three years, 
and continued in such a manner as to induce genital impoten- 
cy, and to perpetuate barremiess. This course was once al- 
most universal among the people."! 

6. Syphilis was the greatest of all causes of this decrease 
of population. The deadly virus had a wide and rapid circu- 
lation throughout the blood, the bones, and sinews of the whole 
nation, and left in its course a train of wretchedness and mis- 
ery which the very pen blushes to record. In the lapse of a 
few years, a dreadful mortality, heightened, if not induced, by 
their unholy intercourse, swept away one half of the popula- 
tion, leaving the dead unburied for want of those able to per- 
form the rites of sepulture ! 

It is singular that so many writers have persevered in the 
affirmation that this evil was introduced by the crews of Cap- 
tain Cook's vessels in 1779. It is a fact, established on the 

* Dibble's History, p. 128. f "Answers to Questions," p. 47. 



GLANCES AT DEPOPULATION. 345 

highest medical authorities, that, in thousands of instances, 
syphilis has been generated, de novo, by impure sexual inter- 
course. In view of the unrestrained licentiousness of the Ha- 
waiians from time immemorial, is there any reason why they 
should not, like other nations, fall victims to their wholesale 
indulgences ? Had Nature thrown around them an impreg- 
nable defense against the results of a violation of physical and 
moral laws ? Such an anomaly can not for a single moment 
be supposed. The rapid decrease of population since the visit 
of Cook may more properly have had its origin in a reaction 
of disease generated, de novo, in the early history 'of the na- 
tion, precisely as the plague in any country may slumber for 
years, and then open yet wider its jaws of destruction. It is 
to a combination of licentiousness and disease, and not to the 
crews of Cook's vessels, nor to the subsequent visits of every 
foreigner, as the missionaries doggedly affirm, that the main 
cause of depopulation is owing. A maintenance of that af- 
firmation is exceedingly impolitic, and displays a total igno- 
rance of the physical organization of man. It may be sus- 
tained only when it can be undeniably proved that the Ha- 
waiians, throughout all their previous generations, were not 
actuated in the same manner as every portion of the human 
race. 

But these remarks bring us to the 'present causes of depop- 
ulation. They may be recognized as follows : 

1. Indolence. — This evil is as rife now as it ever was, and 
has already been noticed. 

2. Dietetics. — In their habits of eating and drinking they 
are very irregular. Those who have a good supply offish and 
poi will eat six or eight times in the twenty-four hours. They 
will sometimes rise in the night to eat. When they have 
nothing to tempt the appetite, such is their indolence that 
they will often fast for days together, and when food is again 
procured, they will eat proportionably more. These extremes 
not unfrequently tend to fevers which end in death. 

3. Dress. — In passing from a hardy way of living to one 
more conformed to the rules of civilization, requiring clothing, 

P2 



346 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

and leading to more effeminate habits. Not having from ear- 
ly life been accustomed to the use of clothing, they at first 
found it burdensome, and cast it off imprudently, often when 
they should have kept it on, and thus exposed themselves to 
colds, and consequent disease and death. Those who had ob- 
tained clothing often put it on in the heat of the day, and di- 
vested themselves of it in the cool of the day, and at night and 
in the wet appeared generally in their native costume, which 
was an almost entire destitution of clothing.^ 

4. Parental Neglect. — On the Sandwich group children 
are literally born to an inheritance of disease and misery inde- 
scribable. It is a matter of wonder how any of them survive 
their complaints. When contrasted with the children of civ- 
ilized lands, there is indeed a great gulf between. Nurtured 
in the lap of maternal love, watched over by day and night 
with the tenderest solicitude, the first rising symptom of ill- 
ness detected, and the best medical skill obtained which is in 
the power of parental anxiety to obtain, most of the latter live 
to bless the care that rears them. But the children of Ha- 
waiians are not so blessed. With all the predisposing causes 
of disease fastened upon them, having no suitable diet or med- 
ical aid when sick, destitute of careful nurses, having only 
those who are ignorant and heedless of their duty, they pine 
away till exhausted nature sinks, and they sleep in the arms 
of death. 

5. Dwellings. — " Though the Sandwich Islanders are re- 
markably fond of the water, and are fastidiously particular in 
their practices of washing and bathing, they are, nevertheless, 
extremely filthy and squalid in many of their habits of life. 
With their beasts and fowls in the same habitation, and not 
unfrequently on the same mats with themselves, their often- 
repeated ablutions will be regarded as timely. The kapa, or 
native cloth used by the inhabitants, is worn without cleans- 
ing, till, having become foul with dirt and vermin, and too 
ragged to serve longer the purposes of covering or protection, 
it is lain aside. Hence diseases induced or exacerbated by 

* "Answers to Questions," p. 49. 



GLANCES AT DEPOPULATION. 347 

such causes have at those islands a fruitful soil, and flourish 
luxuriantly." 

Cutaneous diseases and scrofula are the invariable results 
of their wretched mode of domestics. 

6. Tlie Therapeutics of Hawaiian Doctors. — Native med- 
icines and quacks tend to injure the health of the nation. 
Awa, a powerful narcotic, is the great medicine, when all oth- 
ers fail, with native doctors, and this produces intoxication 
like opium, feebleness, indigestion, nervous affections, and ap- 
oplexy. Much of the practice of native doctors is little else 
than mere manslaughter* 

" Many of these evils have their source in a blind and bar- 
barous practice of using immoderately the most powerful and 
drastic cathartics. The inside of the calabash {Cucurbita 
lagenaria), triturated seeds of the castor oil, the fruit of the 
candle-nut (Aleurites triloba), two or three species of the Ipo- 
mece, and some other drastic articles, are given in such doses 
as sometimes to create the most obstinate and dangerous dys- 
enteries. I have known a case in which the average opera- 
tions of four cathartics, given to disperse dropsy, were twenty- 
one, the aggregate eighty-four ; and another case, in which a 
man, from a fear that he would be sick, took such an enor- 
mous dose of the calabash as to produce a hemorrhage, which 
proved fatal within a few hours."! 

" Charms and incantations have a conspicuous place in 
their therapeutics, and often lead to practices the most shock- 
ing. Many have been pounded and roasted to death from a 
belief that their diseases were the effect of an indwelling spirit. 
Nor is it in all cases needful that the patient should be actu- 
ally suffering with disease ; the mere apprehension of future 
sickness is sufficient reason for having recourse to remediate 
measures, and truly fortunate is he who has sufficient strength 
of constitution to withstand the baneful influence of their 
more drastic doses. "J 

8. Syphilis, in its worst forms, is one of the principal mod- 

* " Answers to Questions," p. 48. 

f Hawaiian Spectator, vol i., p. 259* % Ibid., p. 262. 



g48 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

em causes of depopulation. Under this head I will cite one 
victim as described by a recent medical authority at the group. 
In presenting this case, he says : "I have seen more than one 
case of marasmus induced by the difficulty of mastication and 
deglutition. The mouths of these patients were almost closed 
in the process of cicatrization, and the gums and fauces were 
destroyed by ulceration. In one of my patients suffering with 
the secondary symptoms of the disease, in which I was suc- 
cessful in stopping its progress by a mercurial course, the ex- 
ternal nose had entirely disappeared, and its place was occu- 
pied by a concavity and a foramen of an irregularly oblong 
form. The left eye was totally blind, and both so disfigured 
by ulceration as almost to lose their identity. The mouth was 
shockingly deformed ; the lips and alveolar processes mostly 
removed by absorption, and the teeth, having their necks and 
a portion of their roots divested of integuments, were irregu- 
lar in their distances and positions, pointed in every direction, 
and but slenderly adapted to the purposes of utility. The 
whole countenance was much disfigured by deep eschars, and 
the body greatly emaciated ; no food could be masticated by 
him, so bad was the condition of his mouth, "* 

Thus far I have been tedious on the causes of depopulation 
of the Hawaiian race. The reader will immediately perceive 
that I have drawn largely from materials furnished both by 
native historians and missionary authority. In doing this I 
have followed my original design, for I was anxious that they 
should tell their own story of facts which a few pseudo-phi- 
lanthropists might carefully undertake to dispute. But there 
is a cause — the greatest of all causes — for modem decrease in 
the numbers of this dying people, that they have studiously 
avoided, or cared not to mention, or of which they are totally 
unconscious. That cause is 

The strictures of Missionary Law ! — Owing to the uni- 
versal intercourse between the sexes, numbers of women be- 
come enceinte. The offspring may be that of a foreigner, for 

* " Climate and Diseases of the Sandwich Islands. By Alonzo 
Chapin, M.D." American Journal of Medical Sciences, No. xxxix. 



GLANCES AT DEPOPULATION. 349 

to this class of men the native women are strongly attached, 
and they deem snch an intercourse honorable. It will never 
do for that offspring to see the light. As a natural result, it 
is certain to be a half-caste. It would detect the crime of the 
mother. Ecclesiastical inquisitors would faithfully watch her 
recovery from sickness, and then they would not fail to see 
that she was faithfully fined and imprisoned. (See Penal 
Code for 1850, chap, xiii., sec. 4.) If an unmarried woman, 
it will certainly lead to her detection, and she will certainly 
be punished in the same way. (Ibid., chap, xiii., sec. 5.) 

Such is the method of argument employed by the Hawaiian 
"women. And is it not very natural ? Can their law-givers 
be so blind as to believe that their minions will not avail them- 
selves of the means which will aid them in escaping a shame- 
ful and degrading conviction ? If they are, they are willfully 
blind. To escape the rigors of the law, the women employ 
abortion, and, in some cases, infanticide. The former of 
these evils is very common among the younger women over 
all the group, and the latter is employed in extreme cases, 
or when the former fails to relieve them ; but too frequently 
it destroy sthe mother and her offspring at the same time. In 
this w T ay hundreds of women destroy themselves, and thou- 
sands of children, perspectively, are prevented from entering 
upon life's stage. Ten thousand times better would it have 
been for that wronged people had they been permitted to in- 
dulge a restricted concubinage, on their old plan, than to have 
had their domestic habits so suddenly revolutionized. Among 
a people possessing such whirlwind passions, it would have 
been a source of greater virtue than can ever be secured by 
the strictures of law ; and their willingness to renounce a 
plurality of wives would have been the strongest test, in case 
of their becoming candidates for church-membership, that they 
willingly acquiesced in the just and righteous demands of the 
Moral Law of the Bible. 

There are other causes of decrease which might be enumer- 
ated, but they are of minor importance, and may be dismissed. 
The rapidity in the depopulation of the Hawaiian people is 



350 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

unparalleled in the history of the human race. By the early 
navigators in these seas, the inhabitants of the several islands 
of this group were estimated at not less than four hundred 
thousand. This was the estimate given by the scientific gen- 
tlemen who accompanied Captain Cook in his voyage of dis- 
covery. Subsequent voyagers confirmed the correctness of the 
estimate. The accounts of the older and more intelligent na- 
tives, as well as the indications of a country once extensively 
cultivated, corroborate the probability of its truth, and prove 
the fact that there was once a teeming population flourishing 
throughout the whole cluster of islands. But within the short 
space of seventy-four years — allowing for the scourge of the 
small-pox during the year 1853 — the population has dwindled 
down to the low census of about sixty-five thousand. Official 
documents^ show the immense rapidity of its decline within 
a few years past. According to the census of 1836, it amount- 
ed to 108,759. The census of 1832 gave 130,313, as follows : 

Islands. 1832. 1836. Decrease in 4 years. 

Hawaii 45/792 39,364 6,428 

Maui 35,062 24,199 10,863 

Molokai 6,000 6,000 

Lanai 1,600 1,200 400 

Kahoolawe 80 80 

Oaim 29,755 2*7,809 1,946 

Kauai 10,977 8,934 2,043 

Niihau 1,047 993 54 

130,313 108,579 21,734 

The last census, taken in 1848, shows the following result : 

Islands. Population. Deaths. Births. 

Hawaii 27,204 2,726 586 

Oahu 23,145 2,409 596 

Maui 18,671 1,619 267 

Kauai 6,941 686 154 

Molokai 3,429 412 52 

Niihau 723 44 18 

Lanai 528 47 5 

Total 80,641 7,943 1,478 

* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., p. 426. 



CHARACTER OF MISSIONARIES. 35^ 



During the last five years, disease and death have been no 
less active than formerly. There is something mournful in 
the thought of a nation thus fading away. And it may be 
said, in the sorrowful language of a native historian, "On ac- 
count of the magnitude of these evils which have come upon 
the kingdom, the kingdom is sick — it is reduced to a skeleton, 
and is near to death ; yea, the whole Hawaiian nation is near 
to a close. "* 

I can not leave Iole without briefly referring to the new 
mission church which was in progress of erection at the 
time of my visit. This was the third edifice which had been 
erected there by the regular congregation of native worship- 
ers. The first was a mere thatched building ; the second was 
a commodious frame house, which was devastated by a heavy 
wind in 1849. The one now in progress is invested with some- 
thing at once permanent and novel. The walls are composed 
of vesicular lava, which was procured from a neighboring ra- 
vine. The sand was brought from the valley of Polulu and 
the beach at Kawaihae — the former place six miles distant, 
the latter twenty-six. There were no roads over which a 
team could travel ; consequently, the materials were conveyed 
to the site of the building in a method entirely new, and each 
native threw in a share of labor. Some carried sand from the 
place just mentioned in handkerchiefs, others in their under- 
garments. Others very ingeniously connected an entire suit 
together, and filled it with the same material, and then con- 
veyed it to Iole. The lime was the product of coral, which had 
been procured from the reefs at a depth of one to four fathoms 
below the surface of the sea. The timbers were hewn in the 
mountains several miles distant, and dragged down by hand to 
the building. In this way the work had been going on from 
the time the foundation was laid ; and when finished, it will 
Certainly be a credit to the architect and supervisor, the res- 
ident missionary, Mr. Elias Bond. 

These remarks have led me to make a brief review of mis- 
sionary character. The life of a faithful and devoted mission- 
* Hawaiian Spectator, vol ii., p. 130. 



352 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ary on the Sandwich Islands is one of toil, and hard toil, too. 
A good deal is required, and much must be performed. The 
missionary must occupy every post of duty. In many in- 
stances he has to turn carpenter, blacksmith, road-supervisor, 
land-surveyor, surgeon, and physician. He must necessarily 
become versed in the vernacular language of the group. Aside 
from all these duties, he has to attend to the temporal, moral, 
and spiritual claims of his own family and congregation. He 
must be here, there, and every where, so to speak, at the same 
time. He may be a Varro in literature, a Chesterfield in 
politeness ; but, unless he can readily adapt himself to the 
multifarious callings above specified, he is of no use at the 
Sandwich Islands, and had better be away. Good, practical 
men — not mere theorists — -men of true philanthropy, with 
large hearts, are the only sort of men needed there. And I 
wish to be understood as declaring that, although there are men 
there who in their clerical capacity have hindered the cause of 
true Christian civilization, there are those who have done their 
work well and cheerfully ; and Mr. E. Bond, at Iole, is one of 
the latter number. Their object is to elevate a pagan race. 
No herald precedes their movements ; no triumphal chariot 
bears them onward in the discharge of their duties. They 
work steadily, quietly ; yet theirs 

" Are deeds which shall not pass away, 
And names that will not wither, though the earth 
Forgets her empires with a just decay, 
The enslavers and the enslaved, their death and birth : 

. The high, the mountain-majesty of worth 
Shall be, and is, survivor of its woe, 
And from its immortality look forth 
In the sun's face, like to the Alpine snow, 

Imperishably pure, beyond all things below." 

Like other men, these missionaries have their friends and 
foes around them and far away. That friendship and that 
enmity are both strong, and shrink not at trifles, and both, as 
a general thing, are very extreme. To tread a medium path, 
so as to avoid a fulsome flattery or a sweeping censorious- 
ness, is extremely difficult ; yet is it the only just path, and 



CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 353 

few have found it. Feeling, sympathy, partiality, have often 
earned away the judgment, and led to fatal mistakes on the 
part of their eulogizers, and in the estimation of their enter- 
prise hy mere spectators ; and vengeful feelings, counter views, 
opposing motives, when leagued against them, have produced 
results not any worse on the side of the opposing party. Could 
it be more universally understood that those zealous mission- 
aries of whom I have spoken are not angels nor demi-gods, 
but men, and that they have their virtues not less than their 
faults, matters would be viewed with more justice and gen- 
erosity. 

Li this relation, it is absolutely important and necessary that 
the traveler over the group should be strictly impartial. In- 
temperate eulogy has done more injury than wholesale invec- 
tive. Both extremes hold up things in a false light. A sen- 
sible writer, himself a missionary at the time, reprehends this 
extremity of eulogy and invective in language too plain to be 
mistaken : 

" It may be remarked here that travelers who visit mission- 
ary establishments sometimes contribute to existing error. If 
they write in favor of them, they wish to do it to some pur- 
pose ; they wish, of course, to be popular in an age which 
asks for new and exciting matter from the press. Hence we 
have seen books professing to give the state of things at the 
Society, Sandwich, and even Marquesas Islands, written in a 
style of extravagance adapted rather to gratify than to in- 
form the reader. There are other travelers who fall into the 
opposite extreme. They have a point to establish, namely, 
that the missionary enterprise does no good ; that it impover- 
ishes and depopulates, and that the natives who survive its 
pestilential influence are more idle, filthy, and vicious."^ 

While he refers to the traveler, he is not afraid to correct 
the wrong inferences sometimes drawn from missionary reports 
by secretaries of societies. In referring to misapprehension on 
this theme, he says : 

" Certainly this may be affirmed of the late Rev. William 
* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., p. 99. 



354 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

Orme, foreign secretary to the London Missionary Society. 
Yet in a discourse,^ for the most part excellent, delivered by 
him at various missionary anniversaries in England, he drew 
a portrait of the South Sea Mission, for which there is no ori- 
ginal in the Pacific, and, in our judgment, will not be for a cen- 
tury to come. The following is the paragraph to which ref- 
erence is made : 

" ' See those smiling children — their father's boast, their 
mother's pride — romping in all the joyousness of youth, in all 
the conscious security of home, and the delights of parental 
fondness, and brotherly and sisterly affection. 

" ' Behold that happy family, united, endeared, and peace- 
ful ! the parents bound together by the indissoluble tie of 
marriage, and the still more sacred bond of religion — the 
husband loving his wife even as himself, and the wife honor- 
ing and obeying her husband — the children growing up like 
olive-plants about their table — and all showing how good and 
how pleasant a thing it is to dwell together in unity. 

" ■ Examine that cottage — I describe from facts — it rises on 
the outskirts of a shady wood, through which a winding path 
conducts the traveler, improving, as it advances, in beauty. 
At its termination, and in front of the dwelling, appears a 
beautiful green lawn. The cottage is constructed with neat- 
ness and regularity, and tastefully whitewashed. Enter its 
folding-doors. It has a boarded floor, covered with oil-cloth ; 
the windows are furnished with Venitian shutters, to render 
the apartment cool and refreshing ; the rooms are divided by 
screens of kapa, and the beds covered with the same material, 
white and clean ; the apartments are furnished with chairs 
and sofas of native workmanship, and every article indicating 
at once the taste and comfort of the occupants.' "t 

* " The History of the South Sea Mission applied to the Instruc- 
tion and Encouragement of the Church. A Discourse delivered at 
various Missionary Anniversaries. By William Orme, Foreign Secre- 
tary to the London Missionary Society." London : Holds worth and 
Ball, 18 St. Paul's Church-yard, 1829. 

f Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., p. 94. 



NATURE AND EXTENT OF HOSTILITIES. 355 

If foreign secretaries are intemperate in their encomiums, it 
is to be regretted that some foreigners residing on the group 
are not more careful in drawing the dividing line between 
those missionaries who yet faithfully discharge their duties, 
and those who have abandoned them for the acquisition of 
wealth and political power. That these two classes exist will 
not for a single moment be questioned by men who are prac- 
tically familiar with the present condition of the Sandwich 
Islands. 

There are causes, however, for the existence of some hostil- 
ities, cherished both by foreigners residing on the islands and 
by tourists conversant with their political and religious condi- 
tion, and the chief of these causes is an attempted unity be- 
tween the two elements by a few ex-missionaries and their 
partisans. If to this influence laymen should stand opposed, 
it ought to afford no cause for surprise, for it has already done 
much injury to the interests of the nation, as well as to the 
noble cause of Christianity. It is a well-established fact, that 
theologians never did become liberal and enlightened politi- 
cians ; and their failure has always been owing to their dogged 
determination to render spiritual power superior to the rights 
and immunities of civil institutions. When the Nazarene 
was arraigned before the bar of Pilate, he said, " My kingdom 
is not of this world !" 



356 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

FROM IOLE TO WAIMEA. 

Solitude of Native Dwellings. — Volcanic Features. — Groves of the 
Ti Plant. — Wild Oats. — Plains of Waimea. — More Evidences of 
Depopulation. — Hawaiian Catacombs. — Byron's Soliloquy on a 
Skull. — Former Method of Interment among the Hawaiians. — 
Abuse of the Dead. — A " Plague of Flies." — Comparison of Natives 
and Foreigners. — Foreigners and Native Wives. — Agriculture. — 
Sugar Plantations. — A genuine "Yankee" — Raising Stock for the 
Market. 

As I left Iole behind me on my way to Waimea, I could 
not help bestowing a lingering glance on the graves of past 
generations of men. Nor could I avoid cherishing a profound 
regret that the last vestige of the race in the district of Ko- 
hala was nearly gone to the " land of silence." The charac- 
ter of my journey was such as to foster these impressions. 
My path lay directly across the mountains separating the dis- 
tricts of Kohala and Waimea. It was nearly an unbroken 
solitude. The graves of the earlier generations of Hawaiians 
were around. Their village sites were on every hand. The 
foot-paths over which many a warrior had passed from his 
home to battle, and^where many a Hawaiian Hebe had glided 
in the splendors of a tropical twilight, were still there. 

As I continued to ascend the long slopes, I passed two or 
three native huts. What induced them to raise their habita- 
tions in the midst of such a solitude, I could not easily guess. 
But, as the equally solitary inmates came out to steal a glance 
at me while passing, I almost felt an intruder on their fore- 
fathers' soil. 

The geological features of this region are purely volcanic. 
I passed several cones or chimneys several hundred feet high. 
They had decomposed into a very soft red tufa, and their 
sides were covered with a rough mountain grass, interspersed 



WILD OATS. 357 



with a few stunted trees. The soil was mostly of a dark 
brown, and very fertile. 

Immense groves of the ti plant (Draccena terminalis) 
flourish on these upland plains. This is one of the many in- 
stances of Dame Nature's liberality toward her Polynesian 
children. The ti plant is serviceable in a variety of ways. 
The long dark green leaf is used as envelopes for certain mar- 
ketable articles, and they are usually wrapped round fishes, 
pigs, and fowls, during the process of cooking. The root, 
which closely resembles in form the root of the cochlearia, is 
supplied with a rich saccharine juice. When baked, its taste 
is not unlike the sugar-cane. As an article of food, it is much 
prized by the inhabitants of mountain regions ; and in times 
of scarcity, it has fed multitudes who would otherwise have 
perished with famine. 

Halfway between Iole and Waimea, either side of the road 
was skirted for miles with wild oats, that served as food for 
numerous herds of wild cattle. It is said they were originally 
sown by an American sailor whom I found residing in this 
region. Having disposed of his own "wild oats" hi his more 
youthful days, and becoming weary in baffling the storms of 
the ocean, he forsook his nautical employment, took to his 
arms a dusky daughter of Hawaii, and located his abode on 
terra fir ma. 

Where the road begins to descend the mountains on the 
south, the plains of Waimea spread before the eye like an im- 
mense panorama. When fairly on them, their appearance is 
much broken by low volcanic mounds and narrow gulches, or 
water-courses. They have a gradual ascent from the sea- 
shore at Kawaihae until they reach the district of Hamakua 
on the east, and the base of Mauna Kea on the south. 

These plains are much pierced by subterranean chambers, 
many of which are accessible from their roofs, while others, 
once used as places of interment for the dead, are hermetically 
sealed. Nearly midway between Waimea and Hanipoi the 
road leads over one of these vast chambers, no access to which 
has yet been discovered. In riding over it, the horse's feet 



358 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

produce hollow reverberations, which carry the conviction to 
the rider that the roof may break through at any moment. 

Like Kohala, the district of Waimea displays numerous evi- 
dences of extinct population. On nearly every portion of the 
plains, and on every hill-side to the north, there were distinct 
traces of lands that had once been well cultivated, and of vil- 
lages once densely peopled. At almost every step, the travel- 
er is induced to stay and to ask himself, " What has become 
of the vast multitudes that once lived and progressed in this 
region ? and where have they been scattered ?" And he 
pauses and reflects until Echo answers " Where V 

Let us pay a visit to the principal catacomb at Waimea. 
It is situated about three miles to the south of the village. A 
native guide is a very necessary accompaniment to the travel- 
er, for the site of entrance is difficult to find. The aperture 
is small and pierces the roof. Several projecting masses of 
lava rock aid in the descent, which is accomplished by going 
down feet first, and some care is required to prevent a stran- 
ger from breaking his neck by falling backward. The aid of 
a torch is also required, for the darkness of this catacomb is 
literally " thick darkness." The chamber has no regular for- 
mation ; the sides are rugged, and seem as if once torn by a 
heavy natural convulsion at a very early period. The bottom 
was much torn in pieces, and in some places the fissures were 
filled up with a smooth bed of black lava sand, over which a 
stream of water seems to have passed at different intervals, 
caused, probably, by infiltration during the rainy seasons. 

Nothing can be more striking than the dreary and solemn 
aspect of this subterranean. The light of a torch hardly scat- 
ters the dense darkness beyond its own radius, but casts a pale 
and startling hue over the heaps of the mouldering dead. The 
first object which attracted my notice was a skull, against 
which my foot came in contact while passing over the bed of 
sand. I picked it up, looked at its eysless sockets, examined 
its loose teeth. The interior was filled with sand, fragments 
of dried grass, and pieces of native cloth, clearly indicating that 
in this very cranium, once actuated by thoughts, passions, 



BYRON'S SOLILOQUY ON A SKULL. 359 

hopes, sorrows, joys, emanating from an immortal soul, a few 
mice had witnessed the progress of one of their own genera- 
tions. If there is an object on earth that will produce bene- 
ficial meditation, it is a human cranium, in a catacomb whose 
midnight blackness is illumined only by a single torch, and the 
being to whom that cranium once belonged a pagan warrior. 
It is said that the poet Young wrote his "Night Thoughts" 
with a skull before him, lighted up with a candle that was 
placed inside it ; and the melancholy sounds of some portions 
of that poem fully establish the truth of the assertion. He- 
flections on this sublime wreck of humanity have many a time 
given birth to some of the purest thoughts and the most sub- 
lime emotions. The colloquy of " Hamlet" over the crani- 
um of his deceased friend " Yorick" has often been cited as 
a masterly display of thought and reasoning. To this decision 
I humbly bow. But it may be questioned if any thing can 
surpass the musings of" Childe Harold" as he stood view- 
ing the widowed ruins of the once glorious Athens : 
* * * * * 

" Remove yon skull from out the scatter'd heaps. 

Is this a temple where a God may dwell ? 
"Why, even the worm at last disdains her shatter' d celL 

Look on its broken arch, its ruined wall, 
Its chambers desolate, and portals foul : 
Yet this was once Ambition's airy hall, 
The dome of Thought, the palace of the Soul. 
Behold, through each lack-lustre, eyeless hole, 
The gay recess of Wisdom and of Wit, 
And Passion's host that never brook'd control — 
Can all saint, sage, or sophist ever writ, 
People this lonely tower, this tenement refit ?" 

At an early period, the silent tenants of this catacomb ap- 
pear to have been disposed of with some degree of symmetry. 
At the time of interment it would seem that the ligaments 
were severed, so as to give the deceased a sitting posture, with 
the hands placed on the knees. Their former method of inter- 
ring the dead of rank, as described by a recent historian, will 
lead to a comparison of the more recent method : 



360 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

" After the death of a chief or the king, the corpse was per- 
mitted to lie one day, during which time the royal sorcerer 
was engaged in incantation to procure the death of some per- 
son as a sacrifice or peace-offering to the gods for the prosper- 
ous reign of the new king. The corpse was then carried to 
the temple, where certain ceremonies were performed. It was 
then neatly inclosed in leaves of the native ti plant, in the 
same manner as they wrap together the body of a hog or dog 
for cooking. The body was then placed in the ground and 
covered to the depth of about eight inches. A slight fire was 
then kindled over it, so as to keep it at about the temperature 
of the living body. This was done for the purpose of hasten- 
ing the process of putrefaction. As soon as the flesh could be 
easily slipped from the bones, the six long bones of the arms and 
the six long bones of the legs were taken out, and, being cleansed 
in some perfumed water, were then fastened together, the bones 
of the arms standing or the bones of the legs. The head was 
then taken, and, having been cleansed in the same manner, 
was placed on the top, and the whole wound up in native 
bark cloth, and deified. But if they were merely the bones 
of a high chief, they were simply preserved in some depository. 
In times of public commotion, the bones of the kings, though 
thus deified, were immediately concealed by their friends, lest 
they should be obtained by the enemy and treated with disre- 
spect. Some kings gave charge during their lifetime to have 
their bones concealed at once. This, we have seen, was the 
charge of Kamehameha."^ 

It was evident, however, that the tenants of this catacomb 
had not been exposed to such extreme transformations after 
death ; yet this was the burying-place of the chiefs of more 
recent times. They seem to have been interred with their 
weapons of war, and all their domestic implements, such as 
fishing-lines, tobacco-pipes, &c. ; they were also rolled up in 
sheets of native cloth manufactured out of the bark of the na- 
tive waiite (Morus papyrifera), and laid on rude frames con- 
structed with poles. Some of the skeletons I examined were 

* Dibble's History, p. 123. 



ANCIENT MODE OF INTERMENT. 3Q1 

between six and seven feet in length, while others were rather 
more than medium. It occurred to me as being a very re- 
markable fact that, in those jaws which were the most entire, 
the teeth were perfect in their enamel, and almost in number. 
Two or three of the front teeth, however, were usually defi- 
cient, both in the upper and lower jaws, and this was the re- 
sult of a custom which always followed the death of a king or 
chief, and was formerly considered the most sincere badge of 
mourning. This singular beauty of the teeth after their long 
interment is owing solely to the fact that the Hawaiians al- 
ways — then as now — ate their food in a cold state. Some 
of these remains were in a state of remarkable preservation. 
The skin was merely withered, and hung loosely around its 
tenant, like a piece of faded parchment : it seemed as if a 
mere touch would awaken the sleepers to thought and action. 
Others, again, were so entire, and retained so quiet an aspect, 
that I could hardly persuade myself that they were not indulg- 
ing a brief and refreshing repose. The chambers of the dead 
are perfectly dry, and every fragment of rock, together with 
every portion of human remains, was covered with a conglom- 
erate of fine dust ; and it may be owing to the perfect aridity 
of these sepulchres that the dead have so long retained their 
entireness. 

It was evident that some miscreant hands had been busily 
employed in violating the repose of these silent slumberers. 
Some were dislodged from their horizontal position, and placed 
in an erect posture against the walls of the catacombs ; a part 
of these were placed on their feet, while others were fixed di- 
rectly vice versa. I found one immense skeleton in a sitting 
posture, with an old tobacco-pipe placed in its ghastly jaws ; 
and in spite of that mysterious sanctity which ever hovers 
around the last vestiges of the dead, I found some difficulty in 
repressing a smile at the very ludicrous appearance. Others 
reposed in the position in which they had been originally 
placed, with the exception that the same sacrilegious hands 
had placed an empty calabash under each head. There were 
others that appeared never to have been disturbed, while vast 

GL 



362 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

numbers were tumbled about in every conceivable attitude. 
Others, again, were robbed of the domestic implements that 
had been interred with them. 

Nothing can justify these wanton outrages upon the dead, 
and that man is not to be envied who can tread the realms of 
the " king of terrors" with a callous heart. Only a few years 
before my visit, a large catacomb at Kea-ni-ni, a little to the 
eastward of Waimea village, was burned out. Every vestige 
of the long-buried dead was destroyed. It is said to have 
been done by two foreigners ; but whether by accident or de- 
sign, it is not known. But the indignation of the natives who 
resided near the spot was aroused at this wholesale destruc- 
tion of the bones of their fathers, and it came very near cost- 
ing these travelers and their native guides their life. Other 
catacombs in this region have been similarly outraged ; con- 
sequently, a number more have been closely sealed by the 
present generation, with a view to preserve them inviolate. 

Having finished my explorations, I procured a fine large 
cranium belonging to a skeleton six feet seven and three fourth 
inches in length, and once more emerged into the light of day. 

Waimea is a pleasant village, and has in full view the sum- 
mits of the three great volcanic mountains, Mauna Hualalai, 
Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa ; and there are many pleasant 
objects to attract the admiration of a tourist. But almost ev- 
ery thing is marred by the eternal buzzing and biting of count- 
less swarms of flies. Whether their existence is owing to the 
numerous catacombs, or the cattle-pens which are located 
there, or to both of these causes, I am unable to decide ; but 
they are an intolerable nuisance. They are up the first thing 
in a morning, and that man must be a sluggard indeed who 
can slumber amid their merciless attacks. It is impossible to 
sit down to a single meal but they find their way into your 
food, or directly into your mouth, as if they would* dispute 
your right to satisfy the cravings of the " inner man." All 
day long, in the house and out of doors, in the sunlight and 
in the shade, you are beset with these curses of Pharaoh, this 
plague of Egypt. If you sit down to converse, your very arm 



NATIVES AND FOREIGNERS. 353 

wearies in its attempts to drive away these plagues ; or, if 
you sit down to read, you must hold a bush or a fly-brush in 
one hand, with your book in the other. If your inclination 
leads you to indulge a brief siesta after dinner, and you can 
not enjoy it without sleeping with your mouth open, that un- 
fortunate member serves for a regular fly-trap. Eating, drink- 
ing, sleeping, waking, riding, or walking, doing any thing or 
doing nothing, these legions surround you ; and if you do not 
bitterly curse the plague-stricken Egyptian king for not keep- 
ing these curses in his own granite palaces, it is because you 
have more patience than Job, or because you never- knew and 
never will know what patience means. 

While staying at Waimea, I had an excellent opportunity 
to study the comparative difference and the relations between 
native and foreign character. Aware that I am treading upon 
very delicate ground, I wish distinctly to be understood as 
speaking of a low class of foreigners, not at Waimea only, but 
wherever they reside on the group. More especially, how- 
ever, I choose to refer to this class of men who reside on the 
island of Hawaii, for there they most plainly reveal their true 
characteristics. As a general thing, this class are illiterate, 
sensual, and vicious ; they are the substratum of the society, 
or canaille of other nations, and possess neither the inclina- 
tion nor means to elevate native character. To elevate abo- 
riginal races, both intelligence, virtue, and ambition are nec- 
essary. These essentials the lower class of foreigners do not 
possess, and they never will. Having spent several years of 
their life among the natives without a single attempt to re- 
form them, it is exceedingly improbable that they will com- 
mence now. I have met with many foreigners who, in point 
of civilization, are far below thousands of the native race, 
and I have many a time questioned myself if native indolence 
and stupidity have surpassed their own. The effects of such 
examples have always been extremely baneful to the cause of 
Hawaiian civilization, and the extent to which the cause of 
native virtue has been hindered will never be known until 
the day of the world's final judgment. 



364 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

So also the relations which subsist between most foreigners 
and native women — as wives, is more commonly a source of 
evil than good. To a person who has never threaded his way 
over the Sandwich group, it will be natural to suppose that, 
when a foreigner marries a native woman, he will exert every 
effort to raise her in the scale of civilization. But such is not 
the case. Almost, as a general thing, this union is but a li- 
cense to indiscriminate sensual indulgence and horrible bru- 
tality. When a foreigner takes to his arms one of these daugh- 
ters of the Pacific Islands, and supposes she can do for him 
what a woman of his own nation could, he must be destitute 
of the first rudiments of common sense. Yet these mistakes 
are of nearly every-day occurrence. In such cases, the native 
women are regarded more as matters of convenience than as 
immortal, and therefore responsible beings. In a very brief 
period their masculine tyrants commence their brutality, force 
their unjust exactions, and become unfaithful to their conjugal 
vows. 

In point of civilization, too, these foreigners, of whom I am 
speaking, are as much below their wives as their wives are 
below native women who are married to natives. Justice 
compels me to state that I have found them generous to a 
fault. They have always furnished me with the very best 
they had in their possession, and would never receive from me 
any compensation for their hospitalities ; but, at the same time, 
there was every thing wanting which could tend to fling 
around their habitations what we understand by that magical 
word, that mighty talisman — " home !" It would be impos- 
sible to picture the demoniacal outrages perpetrated upon some 
of these native women by their own husbands during moments 
of groundless jealousy. However a woman may thus suffer 
from the hands of a foreigner, there is no redress. Her life 
becomes a scene of continued slavery. Her spirit is broken, 
and she too commonly takes that license which a groundless 
jealousy only supposed had an existence. Under such circum- 
stances as these, it is no longer a cause for surprise that so many 
of the Hawaiians never see the light of a true civilization. 



A GENUINE "YANKEE." 355 

The district of Waimea can not strictly be termed agricul- 
tural. This is owing to natural causes, not less than to the 
inattention of natives and foreigners to agricultural pursuits. 
In 1850 and 1851, vessels from California took away large 
supplies of produce. Since then there has been a great reduc- 
tion in native enterprise. 

At Lihue, a short distance to the southwest of "Waimea, I 
passed over a ruined sugar estate. Every effort that ingenui- 
ty could devise had been vainly expended upon it. This fail- 
ure was owing to the commercial laws emanating from that 
sublime oracle — the body politic at Honolulu ; also to the high 
duties imposed on the exported sugars. But this estate is not 
the first, nor will it be the last — should the present form of 
government continue — that will be a mere sinking-fund to 
moneyed men. 

But the planter at Lihue was of that singular specimen of 
the genus homo usually termed a " genuine Yankee." As 
fast as the government and its one or two " Yankee" satellites 
tried to crush him in one corner, he always managed to elude 
their grasp — like an eel — and crept out at another. He was 
not long in finding out that, with himself, at least, sugar-mak- 
ing was not a lucrative business, and, fearing he might be 
tempted to attempt it another year, he tore down his sugar- 
house, and turned his hogs into the standing cane to fatten for 
the market. As the chameleon is said to change his hues, so 
this planter changed his vocation. He at once commenced 
the business of cabinet-making, and reserved his sugar-grind- 
ing machinery for the purpose of turning his saws and lathes. 
Ever since this change of business, his success has been all he 
could wish. 

While staying with this enterprising gentleman, I was at a 
total loss to decide which was the greatest curiosity — his per- 
sonal appearance, or the multiform character of his* unconquer- 
able bent of mind. I did decide, however, that a thorough 
Yankee is the " eighth wonder of the world." I have watch- 
ed his movements until I have been compelled to relieve my 
emotions by frequent outbursts of laughter. To me he seem- 



366 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ed to be a sort of omnipresence on his estate. In his shirt- 
sleeves, and with a lumbering apology for a walking-cane, I 
have seen him start up a group of indolent natives in one 
place, and before I could realize that he was really gone, he 
would be rods away, giving directions in another. I remain- 
ed with him several days, and when I left him I was compell- 
ed to sustain my original conclusion, that a genuine Yankee 
is the "eighth wonder of the world." 

The whole district of Waimea is best suited to raising stock 
for the market. Horses, cattle, and sheep increase at a rate 
of three per cent, faster than in any other country in the 
world. There are no chilling breezes. The lap of Nature is 
never frozen. The rains are frequent and fertilizing. Ver- 
dure is perpetual. Stock of every kind is easily fed on these 
everlasting pastures. By proper care and enterprise, sustain- 
ed by a judicious expenditure of capital, this business may be 
rendered exceedingly lucrative both to salesmen and pur- 
chasers. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

JOURNEY TO THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA. 

Cavernous Formations. — Interview with a genuine " Nimrod." — Saw- 
mills at Hanipoi. — Singing Birds. — Power of Association. — In- 
stances of. — A rough but generous Welcome. — A strange Woman. 
— Ascent of the Mountain. — Forests. — Wild Cattle. — Fruits and 
Flowers. — Deceptions in climbing a volcanic Mountain. — Reach 
the Summit. — Intense Fatigue. — Exquisite Sense of Cold. — Hills 
of Snow. — A Lunch, above the Clouds. — Sound. — Large crateri- 
form Lake.— Apparent Formation of the Mountain. — Extinction 
of its Fires. — Absolute Solitude. — View from the Summit. — Solil- 
oquy of Byron's " Manfred. "7— Descent of the Mountain. — Proposed 
Penance. 

Having finished my rambles over the district of Waimea, I 
commenced my preparations for a journey to the summit of 
Mauna Kea. I felt impatient to tread its snows, and breathe 
the atmosphere at so sublime an altitude. 



A GENUINE "NIMROD." 357 

My preparations being completed, I started out with a na- 
tive guide to the forests of Hanipoi, on the northeast slope of 
the mountain. For several miles after leaving "Waimea, our 
path lay over a large surface of country, which, from the hol- 
low sounds produced by the horses' feet, was evidently pierced 
by numerous volcanic subterraneans. 

Noon overtook me within sight of the residence of Mr. 
Parker, an old American, who had resided on this island near- 
ly forty years. I was curious to see him, as I heard much of 
his generous and excellent character, so I resolved on making 
a short stay with him. In his earlier life he had wandered 
over the ocean in the capacity of a sailor. His last voyage 
brought him to this island, when he resolved on quitting a pur- 
suit so precarious. For some years he ranged the woods after 
wild bullocks, and became a second Nimrod, " a mighty hunt- 
er before the Lord." He showed me a rifle with which he 
had shot twelve hundred head of cattle. 

After a residence of several years on the island, he married 
a Hawaiian woman. Two noble half-caste sons were the re- 
sult of that union. His own untiring and consistent deport- 
ment toward her rewarded him, for she has ever been a 
faithful, good wife. The civilization she displayed in her per- 
sonal appearance and domestic relations entirely surprised me, 
and established a firm conviction that, with manly treatment, 
these " daughters of the isles" can be rendered virtuous, happy, 
and useful. 

From this old veteran I gathered much useful information 
which I have interspersed in these pages. He had lived on 
the group several years before the first missionaries landed. 
He could speak of the " times of Kamehameha the Great," 
and of his successor, Kamehameha II. His mind was well 
stored with facts relating to the habits and customs of the 
Hawaiians, all of which were deeply interesting ; and he lived 
on this island when the battle was fought for the overthrow 
of idolatry, on the plains of Kuamoo, in 1819. 

On the following day I took leave of Mr. Parker. My next 
stage brought me to Hanipoi. At this place I found several 



368 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

saw-mills employed in cutting lumber, abundance of which 
was supplied by the extensive forests of Acacia that flourish 
in this region. 

Here, too, for the first time since my arrival at the group, I 
had the exquisite pleasure of listening to the melody of birds, 
as they poured forth their music in the midst of the rich foli- 
age, as if in honor to the setting sun. And that melody, so 
soft, sweet, and unexpected, imparted an intense charm to the 
already gorgeous robes and associations of nature. 

Such an association as this can not fail to attract the no- 
tice of the tourist. It awakened up in my own spirit feelings 
and memories which had been buried there for years. I could 
recall the hours when, a school-boy, I loved to range beneath 
the canopy of the woods and groves, and play by the side of 
the murmuring brooks. Then, every zephyr had its music, 
every flower its honey, and every rose was thornless. It was 
the singing of these tiny warblers which brought back days 
of innocence, and made me a child again. And who has not 
met some gentle incident which has awakened within him 
memories, feelings, thoughts, and sympathies that may have 
slumbered for years, and that come back like music on the 
surface of the streams, or like the glory of a sun-ray on a calm 
sea ? Man is the creature of association. It was thus that 
the war-bow of the brave Ulysses awoke the fountain of 
Penelope's tears. * The events which surrounded the youth- 
ful years of Cardinal Richelieu followed him through life. 
And when he built his splendid palace on the site of the old 
family chateau at Richelieu, he even sacrificed its symmetry 
to preserve the room in which he was born.f 

I spent that night under the hospitable roof of Mr. Fay, an 
old Englishman, and proprietor of the saw-mills to which al- 
lusion has been made. The same liberality which usually 
characterizes the English nation in their reception of visitors 
seemed to influence him. His welcome to myself was rough 
and unceremonious, but unbounded in its generosity. Every 

* Odyssey, xxi., 55. 

f Mem. de Mile, de Montpensier, i., 27. 



ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN. 3(59 

thing and every body around his dwelling were laid under a 
tax to provide for my comfort. 

I slept on the best bed in the house. The fatigues of the 
day were sufficient to render slumber a welcome companion. 
I deferred retiring until a late hour, on account of a woman 
who had taken up her abode near my couch. As she mani- 
fested no intention to remove her station, I concluded my only 
policy was to put on a bold face and disrobe myself at once. 
With a piercing eye, she watched every one of my movements 
until I had fairly got into bed, and when I was just closing 
my eyes in sleep, she sat there watching me still*. I subse- 
quently ascertained that she was slightly deranged. 

After an early breakfast next morning, in company with a 
foreigner who acted as my guide, and several Kanakas, I com- 
menced the ascent of Mauna Kea. Hanipoi is elevated on the 
foot of the northeast slope, at a height of two thousand seven 
hundred feet above the sea, so that I had already obtained a 
certain altitude in my favor. The early part of the ascent lay 
through dense forests of gigantic koa (Acacia falcata), covered 
with delicate creepers and species of Tillandsice. There were 
also some noble specimens of the tree-fern ( Cibotium chamis- 
sonis), w T hose feathery branches were swayed by the morning 
breeze, bearing on its wings the melody of birds. Just above 
the beginning of the zone of forest, the banana ceases to flour- 
ish, but a beautiful species of the Rubus may be found among 
the crevices of the rocks. The vegetable inhabitants of the 
mountain are of a highly interesting character. Among these 
the Ferns are conspicuous. When the naturalist Douglas 
visited this region in January, 1834, he counted two hundred 
varieties, and a hundred different kinds of Mosses. The re- 
gion of forest reaches an elevation of eight thousand feet above 
the sea. At this point the atmosphere is usually humid, and 
favorable to the great number of Felices, which can not fail 
to attract the notice of the lover of botanical science. At the 
termination of the woody region, a species of Fragaria carpet- 
ed immense patches of the volcanic soil. There were also 
specimens of Compositce, some Vaccinium, and other Alpine 

0,2 



370 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

species. In the highest limit of the soil, I noticed a very fine 
Ranunculus, and far above every other vestige of vegeta- 
tion, there were hundreds of the beautiful silver sword (Ensis 
argentea). 

These forests form a retreat for hundreds of wild cattle, the 
descendants of those introduced by Vancouver in 1 7 93 . They 
are wild as prairie horses. Woe to the unlucky traveler who 
may meet one at the head of some contracted ravine, or fall 
into one of the pens in which the hunter may have entrapped 
a couple or more ! His life is certain to be forfeited. The in- 
trepid Douglas lost his life in the latter way when traveling 
over this island in 1834. 

These forests also abound with immense beds of strawber- 
ries. I could have picked bushels in a short time, ripe, beau- 
tiful, and blooming. On this fruit thousands of birds, ducks, 
and wild geese sustain life, and it renders their flesh a deli- 
cacy which can not be surpassed. Whole groves of immense- 
ly tall raspberry-bushes were loaded with fruit of an incredible 
size. They are invaluable to quench thirst ; but after eating 
a few, their flavor seems to become bitter and disagreeable. 

In the lower regions of the woodlands the traveler crushes 
some delicate tropical flower at nearly every step. These 
gems of innocence and beauty intersperse the grass until it be- 
gins to diminish. 

The ascent of a volcanic mountain is usually very decep- 
tive. At a distance Mauna Kea looks very smooth and easy 
to climb ; but when fairly on its mighty slopes, the traveler 
is soon undeceived. It was no longer the sublime illusion I 
had witnessed from the distant waters of Kawaihae Bay, but 
regular up-hill work. It is intensely wearying before the 
zone of forests is passed, but after that the labor seems to in- 
crease at every step. Now the traveler knocks his knee 
against a sharp projection of lava, or he sinks up to his waist 
in soft sand and ashes. Now he reaches a steep cone, a ves- 
tige of which he could not see from the plain below. He 
must pass on one side of this, for he is too tired to climb it, 
and the effort would not be repaid. Again, he is up to his 



ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN. 37^ 

middle in sand and ashes. Just above his head there is a 
piece of rock projecting from the soft and abrupt slope. If he 
can but reach tJiat, he will sit down and rest ! He still 
climbs ; his right hand clutches it, and he gently and gladly 
pulls himself up ; but, just as he is about to place both feet on 
it, the treacherous fragment gives way, and while it goes roll- 
ing down the mountain with the speed of an avalanche, he 
goes sliding down several rods of dry, loose sand. It is nec- 
essary to stay a while, and recover both breath and strength. 
What would he not give for a single drink of water ! But 
the lazy natives are far below, eating, drinking,, and taking 
then ease. Breath is recovered, and a little strength is gain- 
ed, and away goes the traveler again. Every step lost is 
more embarrassing than the efforts made to gain twenty in 
advance ; so it is a succession of slipping, climbing, panting, 
struggling, and perspiring, hour after hour, until the summit 
is gained. And even here the traveler is exposed to much 
disappointment. He reaches an immense ledge of lava, which 
he joyfully hopes may be the last ; but there is another, and 
yet another, until he is almost in despair of reaching the end 
of his journey. 

After toiling upward for nearly a whole day, and on foot, 
I reached the great table or platform of the mountain. My 
guide had several times admonished me not to think of achiev- 
ing so much in one day ; but the nearer I approached the 
summit, the greater was my anxiety to reach it. It was on 
the edge of night when I attained this elevation — thirteen 
thousand two hundred feet above the sea, and the deep shad- 
ows of departed day were rapidly drawing over the plain be- 
low, shrouding every object in darkness. The exquisite sense 
of fatigue that crept over me was such as I can not describe, 
and wish never again to experience. At that moment I 
would have given any thing for a drink of water. But the 
lazy Kanakas could not be discovered by the aid of my tele- 
scope. In spite of hunger, thirst, and fatigue, I flung myself 
down on a block of lava and went to sleep. 

When the faithful fellow that accompanied me had roused 



372 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

me from my brief siesta, I followed him a short distance down 
the mountain until we reached a cave, where he had kindled 
a good fire with a pile of the withered silver-sword. 

After waiting there six hours, three of the natives made 
their appearance, bringing our eatables ; a great portion they 
had consumed, besides having used two calabashes of water. 
Nothing now remained but to make the best of our position ; 
so we cooked some beef-steaks which had been procured from 
a young bullock we shot in the early part of the day. By 
the time we had finished our supper, the fourth native came 
in. The blankets which it fell to his lot to carry were not 
with him. He vowed by all that was sacred that a wild bul- 
lock had chased him, and that, in his flight, he had dropped 
the blankets and lost them. He sealed these vows by taking 
supper enough for four men, and by breaking the only cala- 
bash which contained our last supply of water. Provoking as 
this piece of carelessness was, angry scolding would avail noth- 
ing, nor would it gather up the precious fluid ; so I smoked 
my pipe in profound silence. Supper being ended, we con- 
soled ourselves by sleeping for the rest of the night on the 
hard floor of the cave. 

At sunrise next morning I resumed my journey. But the 
cold was intense. Although the thermometer stood at 23°, 
I felt the cold so keenly that I experienced a heavy bleeding 
at the nose ; and such was the aridity and rarefaction of the 
atmosphere, that it produced a violent pain in my head, my 
eyes became much bloodshotten, and my limbs, for a time, 
were nearly paralyzed. The guide and natives all shared the 
same fate. A brief exercise, however, partially removed these 
difficulties. 

I was once more on the platform of the mountain. For 
the first four miles over this region, it was easy to form an 
idea of the terrible havoc which had been produced by vol- 
canic fires. The enormous masses of lava, and the wide fields 
of sand, scoriae, and ashes, seemed to have passed through 
every degree of calcination, from the mildest to the most in- 
tense. Hot rivers of sand had been projected over this fearful 



SNOW-COVERED HILLS. 373 

waste, bearing on their bosom huge masses of volcanic rock, 
while in other places the streams of lava looked as fresh as if 
just vomited up from the deep womb of the mountain. 

On this wide platform or main summit stood the summit 
proper. It is composed of a short range of snow-covered hills, 
forming a lengthened ridge of two hundred and twenty-eight 
yards, runmng nearly in a direct line southeast and northwest. 
The loftiest of these hills or chimneys was five hundred and 
sixty-four feet above the platform of the mountain. I was al- 
ready suffering from the effects of intense fatigue, and, on reach- 
ing the snow, my resolution to ascend the Grand Peak felt a 
little shaken. It only remained for me to will the ascent, and 
the victory w r as won. After two hours' toiling and slipping, 
and having several times sunk up to my chin in snow, I at 
length gained the summit of the highest cone. From this ele- 
vation — thirteen thousand seven hundred and sixty-four feet 
above the sea — I had a good opportunity to view the plain on 
which the Grand Peak rested. These snow-covered hills, 
when viewed from the village of Waimea, appeared insig- 
nificant ; but now, as I looked down their slopes, they seemed 
mountains in themselves. For miles around stretched a vast 
plain of scoriae, sand, and ashes, heavily undulated, like tem- 
pest-tossed billows. Sincerely did I long for the means and the 
possibility to erect a lofty flag-staff, with the " stars and stripes" 
nailed to it, that they might wave over the group as high as 
the eagle soars on his broad pinions toward the sun. 

On the highest snow-bank, the thermometer stood at 20° 
when suspended by hand. 

I gave a signal to my guide to pass round the base of the 
Grand Peak, while I descended on the southwest side. Our 
early excursion had given us a good appetite for refreshments, 
and when we met we sat down on a block of lava to take a 
lunch. The weather, although in June, was cold and bracing ; 
but there was something novel and agreeable in taking a lunch 
above the clouds, and we washed it down with water pro- 
cured from snow. 

Commodore Wilkes speaks of the diminution of sound when 



374 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

a gun was fired off by him on the summit of Mauna Loa.* 
This singular phenomenon may have been caused by its hav- 
ing been fired across the crater, which was of vast depth, and 
the floor of which was rent by huge fissures which could not 
be fathomed. But on the summit of Mauna Kea it was very 
different. There the non-diminution of sound struck me as 
being a curious fact. I fired off a brace of pistols, and my 
guide fired off his rifle, and their noise was not at all different 
to the effects of their discharge on the foot of the northern 
slope, but sent a thousand echoes through the spacious regions 
around. The phenomenon on this summit may be owing to 
the peculiar structure of the summit itself, not less than to the 
mineral character of the upper zone of the mountain, for snow 
is doubtless a non-conductor of sound. 

Having finished our lunch, I passed toward the south to look 
at a lake which I had discovered from the summit of the Grand 
Peak. An hour's difficult walking brought me to the near- 
est shore. The surface of the lake was thirteen thousand and 
ninety-two feet above the sea, and surrounded by precipitous 
banks composed of red and black lava-sand. This sheet of 
water covered nearly two hundred acres. It was skirted with 
ice, which extended several yards from the shore ; and although 
it seemed to have been much thawed, it would probably have 
borne the weight of a man. Anxious to test its capacity, I 
began to descend the bank, but I soon discovered the utter 
recklessness of the attempt. In a few seconds I sank up to 
my waist in sand and ashes, and was rapidly disappearing. 
Every attempt to reascend only plunged me into greater diffi- 
culties. I was rescued, however, by my guide. He request- 
ed me to desist from all further efforts until he could aid me. 
He did so by securing his pocket-handkerchief to the end of 
his rifle, which he lowered down the bank, and drew me up. 
By this time I was sufficiently warned not to hazard a second 
expedition ; and yet, if I had been in possession of a few good 
ropes, a large canoe, and half a dozen trusty natives, together 
with a suitable sounding-line, I should have tried the experi- 
ment of sounding that lake. 

* United States Exploring Expedition, y\tl iv., p. 158. 



FORMATION OF MAUNA KEA. 375 

As it was, I was forced to content myself merely by gazing 
on its tranquil bosom. In many places on its treacherous 
shores, and on the desolate plain around me, the bpnes of many 
a wild bullock were bleaching in the cold air. During the 
dry season, they had come here to procure water. Those in 
the former position had not been able to return ; those in the 
latter had perished from sheer exhaustion. 

The formative process of Mauna Kea is a theme of profound 
interest to a naturalist. A close study of its geognostic char- 
acter can not fail to establish the conviction that it has been 
raised up from the bed of the ocean. Like the pther large 
mountains on the group, it may be classed among the craters 
of elevation.^ One immense layer of lava succeeds another, 

* " The description given by Strabo and Pausanitts of this eleva- 
tion led one of the Roman poets, most celebrated for his richness of 
fancy, to develop views which agree in a remarkable manner with 
the theory of modern geognosy. * Near Troezene is a tumulus, steep 
and devoid of trees, once a plain, now a mountain — the vapors, in- 
closed in dark caverns, in vain seeking a passage by which they may 
escape. The heaving earth, inflated by the force of the compressed 
vapors, expand like a bladder filled with air, or like a goat-skin. 
The ground has remained thus inflated, and the high, projecting em- 
inence has been solidified by time into a naked rock.' Thus pictur- 
esquely, and, as analogous phenomena justify us in believing, thus 
truly has Ovid described that great natural phenomenon which oc- 
curred two hundred and eighty-two years before our era, and, con- 
sequently, forty-five years before the volcanic separation of Thera 
(Santorino) and Therasia, between Troezene and Epidaurus, on the 
same spot where Russegger has found veins of trachyte : 

4 Near Trcezene stands a hill, exposed in air 
To winter winds, of leafy shadows bare : 
This once was level ground, but (strange to tell) 
Th' included vapors that in caverns dwell, 
Laboring with colic pangs, and close confined, 
In vain sought issue for the rumbling wind : 
Yet still they heaved for vent, and, heaving still, 
Enlarged the concave and shot up the hill, 
As breath expands a bladder, or the skins 
Of goats are blown t' inclose the hoarded wines — 
The mountain yet retains a mountain's face, 
And gather'd rubbish heads the hollow space.' " 

— " Ovtd's Description of the Eruption of Methone (Metam., xv., p. 
296-306), Dryderis translation' 1 Cosmos, vol. L, p. 240, 241. 



376 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

each one becoming more youthful as the summit is approached. 
By some terrible reaction, the crater seems suddenly to have 
become extinct, while vents have been formed in the sides of 
the mountain, and the Grand Peak or ridge of cones superim- 
posed on the great platform. In this way that crateriform 
lake has been established. It is supplied by the action of the 
sun's rays on perpetual snow. 

Just below the summit, and around its entire circuit, there 
are no fewer than forty-seven high conical hills of lateral for- 
mation. When the main crater became extinct, these cones 
or chimneys formed the natural outlets of gaseous fluids and 
volcanic steam. Through these same vents the fires expend- 
ed their last strength, or took a subterranean course, and united 
with those of Kilauea, on the northeast slope of Mauna Loa, 
and of its own crater. 

The solitude of the summit of Mauna Kea is almost over- 
whelming and absolute. Not a vestige of vegetation is to be 
seen. Nothing indicates the existence of man. The desola- 
tion was such as I had never before witnessed, and may never 
witness again. Forcibly did it recall to my mind the lan- 
guage of Milton's archangel when he addressed his fallen 
compeers : 

"Is this the region, this the soil, the clime, 
* * * * this the seat 

That we must change for heaven ?" 

The entire surface of the plain looked 

" As if it were a land that ever burn'd 
With solid, as the lake with liquid fire : 
And such appear'd in hue, as when the force 
Of subterranean winds transports a hill 
Torn from Pelorus, or with shatter'd side 
Of thundering ^Etna, whose combustibles 
And fuel'd entrails thence conceiving fire, 
Sublimed with mineral fury, aid the winds, 
And leave a singed bottom." 

But the view from the summit was surpassingly grand and 
impressive. The sunlight shed such a sea of glory on the 



VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. 377 

clouds which girded the sides of the mountain as to give them 
an appearance almost supernatural. The "Aurora" of Guroo, 
with all its soft and beautiful touches, was infinitely surpass- 
ed here. In the distance, the island of Maui rose up out of 
the deep as if by enchantment. The mountains on the north- 
west, that separated Kohala from Waimea, were enveloped 
with fleecy clouds that seemed permanent, like oceans of sil- 
ver suspended in the atmosphere. To the west, Mauna Hua- 
lalai, the third great mountain on the island, rose up like a 
huge giant from the plain below. On the south towered the 
mighty Mauna Loa, leaving its throne of clouds beneath its 
snowy brow, as if disdaining to notice them. I looked up to 
the snow-covered hills close to where I stood, and as the sun 
shed on them his full and unobscured light, it seemed as 
though they almost held converse with the eternity which 
hung over them. The vast variety of objects, so mysteriously 
and beautifully blended together, have a tendency to oppress 
the spirit. It was with great force and eloquence that Doug- 
las said, when standing on this very spot, no longer than 
twenty years ago, 

" Were the traveler permitted to express the emotions he 
feels when placed on such an astonishing part of the earth's 
surface, cold indeed must his heart be to the great operations 
of Nature, and still colder toward Nature's God, by whose 
wisdom and power such wonderful scenes were created, if he 
could behold them without deep humility and reverential awe. 
Man feels himself as nothing — as if standing on the verge of 
another world. A death-like stillness of the place, not an 
animal nor an insect to be seen — far removed from the din 
and bustle of the world — impresses on his mind with double 
force the extreme helplessness of his condition, an object of 
pity and compassion, utterly unworthy to stand in the pres- 
ence of a great and good, and wise and holy God, and to con- 
template the diversified works of his hands." 

But the sun was the most glorious of all objects, as it shed 
its flood of light from the bosom of the sky, and it has been 
well portrayed in the soliloquy of Byron's "Manfred:" 



378 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

"Glorious orb! the idol 
Of early Nature, and the vigorous race 
Of undiseased mankind, the giant sons 
Of the embrace of angels, with a sex 
More beautiful than they, which did draw down 
The erring spirits who can ne'er return. 
Most glorious orb ! thou wert a worship, ere 
The mystery of thy making was revealed ! 
Thou earliest minister of the Almighty, 
Which gladdened, on their mountain-tops, the hearts 
Of the Chaldean shepherds, till they poured 
Themselves in orisons ! Thou material God, 
And representative of the Unknown — 
Who chose thee for his shadow ! Thou chief star ! 
Centre of many stars ! which mak'st our earth 
Endurable, and temperest the hues 
And hearts of all who walk within thy rays ! 
Sire of the seasons ! Monarch of the climes! 
And those who dwell in them ! for near or far, 
Our inborn spirits have a tint of thee, 
Even as our outward aspects : thou dost rise, 
And shine, and set in glory." 

After lingering on and around the summit of this giant of 
the Pacific, I made preparations to descend. It really was a 
relief to call back the mind from a contemplation of scenes 
viewed from the summit of a mountain nearly three miles in 
height ; and yet I left with them a reluctant farewell. 

The descent I found to be more fatiguing than the ascent 
had been. The downward course, for miles and hours in suc- 
cession, down slopes seventeen miles in length, makes a strong 
man feel as though his limbs were about to be dismembered. 
As we approached the woody region, we casually struck into 
the same path of our ascent, and on sitting down upon a ledge 
of rock to rest for a while, we discovered the missing blankets 
very carefully tucked away under it ! Aided by the beautiful 
moonlight, we continued our descent. At a late hour in the 
night we arrived once more at the hospitable dwelling of Mr. 
Fay, where we regaled ourselves on substantial fare. 

It is impossible to describe the anguish which emanates 
from the labor of climbing Mauna Kea. I had worn out three 



A HAWAIIAN FEAST. 379 

pairs of shoes in as many days. On returning to a place of 
repose, it was some time before even my sleep became a source 
of in vigor ation. I was highly gratified with what I had 
accomplished, but nothing would have induced me to reat- 
tempt it. 

In concluding this chapter, I have only to add, that if there 
is a devotee in the world who is looking to the genius of hu- 
man creeds for consolation, and is passing through a sea of 
penance to secure it, let him once climb this enormous volcanic 
cone, and if his sense of fatigue does not enlighten him as to 
the accursed impositions of his spiritual tyrants, nothing ever 
will. 



-CHAPTER XXX. 

JOURNEY TO WAI-PIO. 

Forests of Acacia. — Gigantic Ferns. — Swamps. — An Instance of na- 
tive Cruelty. — Valley of Wai-pio. — Descent. — Primitive Character 
of the Inhabitants. — Explorations. — Cascades. — A Bullock carried 
over the Falls. — Fastidiousness of native Appetite. — Population. 
— Agriculture. — Curious Instance of Cupidity. — Eeal Changes. — 
Scenes at an Evening Repast. 

The journey from Hanipoi to Wai-pio is one of the most in- 
teresting and difficult of any over the Sandwich group. The 
"rainy season" was over, but its departure did not preclude 
the coming of frequent and fertilizing showers. My guide and 
myself were wet to our boots. The nearer we approached 
Wai-pio, the more embarrassing was the condition of the roads. 
The horses sunk up to the skirts of their saddles in soft mud, 
and sometimes it cost hours of patient toil before they could 
again set their feet on terra fir ma. 

But, in spite of mud and rain, the scenery was grand. Our 
route lay directly through immense forests of koa (Acacia fal- 
cata), the strong limbs and forks of which were profusely 
adorned with creepers of various sizes, pending in a perpen- 
dicular line from the lofty foliage down to the floor of the for- 



380 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

est. Parasites and Epiphytes, of the most delicate species, 
clung to many of these huge koa-trees with as much gentle- 
ness and dependence as " Desdemona" clung to the Venitian 
"Moor." 

But the most stately objects which bordered our pathway, 
or occupied the remoter regions of these woods, were gigantic 
tree-ferns (Cibotium chamissonis). Many of them ranged 
from twenty to seventy feet in height, and the foliage of the 
most perfect of them, as it waved in the balmy winds, had a 
close resemblance to that of the Oriental palm-tree. From 
this noble fern the natives gather a soft, silky substance, that 
much resembles the best merino wool. This they call pulu, 
and it is used for stuffing beds and pillows. 

To the left of the path lay treacherous and impassable 
swamps. In endeavoring to effect a nearer journey to Wai- 
pio, many a native, when he supposed he was passing over 
solid ground, has suddenly disappeared and been seen no more. 

While following the path through this forest region, my at- 
tention was attracted toward a prostrate bullock. It needed 
but a single glance to convince me that his brutal owners had 
overloaded him, and goaded him through the sea of mud I 
had just crossed with an unbroken neck. In all probability, 
he was but a year old ; but the poor creature lay there in the 
agonies of death. Although the mud was still up to my 
horse's knees, I dismounted, and, with the assistance of my na- 
tive guide, endeavored to assist the prostrate brute to his feet. 
But it was all in vain. My guide filled his old palm-leaf hat 
with water, and gave to him, but with no effect. There is 
something in the agony of a dying camel, as he breathes his 
last in the wide solitudes of the Sahara, that can not fail to 
touch the deepest sympathies of a beholder, and there was 
something in the long sighs of that poor bullock that touched 
mine. His very eyes, because his tongue was dumb, were 
eloquent in their agony, and he turned them upon me with 
imploring glances. Feeling persuaded that I should do him 
an act of mercy, I terminated his sufferings with a pistol- 
shot. 



DESCENT INTO THE VALLEY. 383 

The Valley of Wai-pio may justly be termed the Eden of 
the Hawaiian Islands. Long before I saw it, I had heard it 
frequently spoken of in terms of the warmest admiration, and 
had prepared my mind for something beyond the usual char- 
acter of the scenery so profusely scattered over the group. On 
reaching the brink of the tremendous bank by which its south- 
ern limit was bounded, the scene was truly magnificent. The 
bed of the valley reposed at a depth of two thousand feet be- 
low. The dwellings of the natives dwindled away nearly to 
the size of ant-hills. The numerous herds of cattle which 
were quietly grazing in the everlasting pastures were hardly 
discernible. On the opposite bank — much higher than the 
one on which I stood — glittering cascades, broken in thirty- 
abrupt falls, were tumbling from rock to rock, half sport- 
ively, half angrily. The centre of the valley was enlivened 
with two crystal rivers, winding their tortuous path to meet 
the foaming surge that broke on the fair sand-beach at its 
mouth. There was something about that valley so lovely and 
undisturbed, that it pictured to the imagination the paradise 
in which the first man wandered with the first woman. It 
seemed to belong to another world, or to be a portion of this 
into which sorrow and death had never entered. 

The descent into this lovely valley is comparatively easy. 
The tourist may assume a sitting posture, and slide down the 
smooth grassy bank for rods in succession. If he finds himself 
gliding too rapidly, he may arrest his speed by an occasional 
clutch at a pandanus-tree, or a strong fern. In twenty min- 
utes he will find himself at the foot of the lofty spur, where 
he may lave his heated limbs in the quiet stream that glides 
gently past. 

On reaching the bed of the valley, and entering a native 
house, I was much impressed with the primitive character of 
the inhabitants. The arrival of a " haole" (foreigner) was, 
as usual, the signal for a numerous gathering of curious 
natives. For a time the doors — there were no windows — 
were so crowded, that it was impossible to procure a breath 
of atmosphere. Observing that I was a good deal heated from 



384 SANDWICH IS D AND NOTES. 

the labor of descending the wall of the valley, one woman pro- 
cured me a drink of water ; another commenced fanning my 
face with an old palm-leaf hat ; while a third procured a 
kihili (fly-brush) to keep off the flies ; and a fourth, a good- 
looking woman about twenty years of age, procured an enor- 
mous wooden pipe, filled and lighted it with her own lips, and 
handed it to me to smoke. I was compelled, however, to de- 
cline this last attention. I had seen so much of syphilis among 
the Hawaiians, both men and women, that I had grown some- 
what fastidious. And there sat before me a woman, apparently 
much interested in my welfare, who had lost a part of her nose 
and one eye from the effects of the same disease. As I had 
no strong inclination to lose my own members of that class, I 
concluded I had better let that pipe alone, for it certainly had 
a contagious look about it. Mistaking my real motive in this 
refusal, they even went farther. I had acquired a sufficient 
smattering of the Hawaiian language to understand certain 
private forms of expression, and I understood that, to remedy 
the refusal I had just made, I might, if I would, pay my pri- 
vate respects to a dark-eyed girl who had just squatted down 
on the mat by my side. To this offer, so indigenous to Ha- 
waiian character, I replied by taking out a cigar and smoking 
it. It is almost needless for me to state that this cluster of 
circumstances abnegated an assurance I had previously re- 
ceived, that " the inhabitants of Wai-pio w r ere a moral set of 
people merely because they had not become contaminated by 
foreigners !" 

My explorations in this valley convinced me that it once 
teemed with a large and busy population. The boundaries of 
ancient fish-ponds, taro-be&s, and village-sites were very numer- 
ous. At different periods in its history, there was not a single 
square rod which does not seem to have been well cultivated. 
The population is rapidly decreasing ; in fact, it is nearly ex- 
tinct. In 1823, when the white man's face was seldom seen 
here, there were several hundred habitations, and thousands 
of inhabitants. There were also several pagan temples stand- 
ing, and an immense stone inclosure, or city of refuge, into 



AGRICULTURE. 385 

which persons might flee in times of war and danger.^ From 
that day to this, depopulation has been in active progress. 
The present population does not exceed two hundred and sixty. 
This fearful decrease is owing to causes already enumerated, 
especially the restrictions of ecclesiastical law. A small stone 
chapel or school-house accommodates the entire population. 
Unless some unlooked-for interposition takes place, it will be 
but a short time before this terrestrial paradise will be as des- 
olate and forsaken as was Eden of old after the expulsion of 
its first tenants. 

In this valley there is some attention paid to agriculture, 
if the mere cultivation of the taro can be dignified by such 
a term. For agricultural purposes, it possesses great and nu- 
merous facilities ; and yet the taro is the only plant of any 
importance that is cultivated. This article is the bread, the 
staff of life to the Hawaiian race. Its cultivation is a source 
of wealth to the occupants of this valley. Every day, and 
during all sorts of weather to which this climate is subjected, 
loads of this food are conveyed on the backs of bullocks and 
the shoulders of natives from this spot to Kawaihae — over 
roads almost impassable — a distance of thirty miles, where it 
finds an immediate sale. 

There is no valley on the whole group which has a soil so 
rich, or is so well located as Wai-pio. Coffee, rice, tobacco, 
and many other articles could be here cultivated with im- 
mense success. The soil is composed of a rich debris of sev- 
eral feet in depth, and rests on a stratum of alluvial washed 
up generations ago by the restless ocean. This debris is con- 
stantly accumulating. Sheltered from the trade-winds, the 
vine would flourish extensively beneath the hills that form 
the southern boundary of the valley. 

Wai-pio Valley is nearly two miles wide at its mouth, and 
terminates in a deep and awfully grand ravine, seven miles 
from the sea-shore, where the almost perpendicular walls at- 
tain an altitude of two thousand five hundred feet. The en- 
tire valley is crateriform, and its origin is closely allied to the 
* Ellis's Tour through Hawaii, p. 202-3. 
R 



386 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

valley of Halawa on Molokai. To enjoy a perfect view of 
this Hawaiian Eden, it should be seen and studied at early 
sunrise, at noon, at the hour of evening twilight, and at night 
under the brightness of the full-orbed moon. It surpasses in 
grandeur all that Johnson has said of the valley in which 
he introduces his readers to " Rasselas," the " Prince of Abys- 
sinia." Nor is it any cause for surprise that it should be re- 
tained as the favorite possession of Kamehameha III. 

I have already referred to the magnificent cascades in this 
valley. There is one, however, which can not be seen until 
the lofty banks are descended. It is located between the 
" spur" to which I have alluded, and the southern wall or 
boundary. It has its origin in a river that sweeps down a 
ravine terminating on the brow of a precipice one thousand 
two hundred feet high. On the brink of this tremendous 
abyss, the river is a foaming torrent ; but before it reaches 
the deep basin into which it falls, it is resolved into a heavy 
shower of spray, reflecting a cluster of the most magnificent 
rainbows which the eye can rest on, and giving life and beauty 
to a large variety of Ferns which grow out of the face of the 
lofty precipice. The whole scene is one of Nature's sublimest 
footsteps, which the tourist is compelled to stand and admire. 

A few weeks prior to my visit, a bullock was carried over 
the brow of this frightful abyss. His owner, a foreigner, whom 
I found residing near the place of descent, had missed him. 
Supposing he might have been carried down by the torrent, 
he searched the ravine, and discovered footprints where the 
animal had exerted himself to climb the banks. On tracing 
these marks to within a few feet of the cataract, he concluded 
that the bullock had been carried over, and dismissed the sub- 
ject from his mind. 

In a few days subsequent to this event, he was called upon 
by a few natives, who informed him that they had found a bul- 
lock at the foot of the falls which they supposed to be his, and 
requested the favor to dress and eat it ! The foreigner gave 
his cordial assent, and away they started down the " spur" 
into the valley below to commence preparations for their feast. 



EVENING REPAST — REAL CHANGES. 3Q7 

The mangled and bloated bullock was dragged ashore. Some 
undertook the task of dressing him, while others began to heat 
stones in a concave formed in the earth, where it was their in- 
tention to bake him. This process is called luau. Just be- 
fore dusk, the former owner of the animal went down into the 
valley to look after his final disposition. He soon saw that 
they were cooking him ! He waited a while longer. The 
natives spread their mats, put on their viands, brought along 
their luaued bullock, and commenced their feast. The for- 
eigner had lived in that region several years, and had lost 
much of his former niceness of appetite, but he speedily con- 
cluded that it would be best to absent himself from this semi- 
cannibalism, and leave the group to finish their repast in their 
own way. 

These statements may naturally lead to the remark that the 
inhabitants of Wai-pio have made but little progress in civili- 
zation. The conclusion is, alas ! too true. I sought for the 
jpuhonua (city of refuge) which once existed there, and also 
for the heiaus, on whose bloody altars so many human vic- 
tims had perished, but found them not. The bloody rites no 
longer existed. The conch was no longer sounded to summon 
warriors to battle. Life and property were now sacred, and 
every man was protected in the freedom of his religious wor- 
ship. The huge walls of their pagan temples and " city of 
refuge" had been torn down, and now stood as inclosures to 
several cottages and fish-ponds. These are some of the real 
changes that have come over this valley and its people. But 
when the question of Christian civilization is tested, it must 
meet with a very unsatisfactory response. 

At the close of my second day's visit in this valley, I was 
about starting back up the " spur" which led out of it, when 
the owner of the house I first entered on my arrival informed 
me, if I would spend the night with him, he would give me 
a good reception. The sound of the English language — for 
he spoke English well — was a sufficient inducement for me to 
remain with him. In an incredibly short time a fire was kin- 
dled on the outside of the house, and preparations were made 



388 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

for cooking supper. When our repast was brought in, it con- 
sisted of a roasted fowl, some beef-steak, a mess of poi, some 
boiled taro, and a bowl of milk for myself. The former was 
all very well, but the latter I refused to touch ; for reasons the 
same that induced me to refuse the pipe and tobacco on a pre- 
vious occasion had no small influence upon me at this supper- 
hour. I was fortunate enough to procure my " mess" in a 
separate dish, and the family group deemed themselves equal- 
ly fortunate in dipping their fingers in the food without dis- 
crimination. Men, women, children, dogs, and cats, all ate 
together. 

The supper was finished and the mats were cleared. The 
next movement of " mine host" was to procure several copies 
of the Bible and as many hymn-books, for the purpose of con- 
ducting family devotions. Inwardly I reproved myself for the 
hasty conclusion I had formed in relation to the private mor- 
als of this people. The devotions were conducted with a 
grace and solemnity that would have honored any civilized 
family. 

These devotions having terminated, I retired to the outside 
of the house to smoke a cigar, and contemplate the aspect of 
the valley under the moonlight. As I sat smoking on the low 
stone wall which surrounded the dwelling, my entertainer, who 
was a young man, came out and joined me. He was a good 
specimen of a Hawaiian, both in personal appearance and 
mental structure. After making some remarks on the weath- 
er, the valley, the people, and myself, he wished to know if 
" I was attached to the sex." 

I told him I respected them. 

Placing a wrong construction upon my reply, he assured me 
he was very poor, and must adopt some means to raise money. 
He had a mother, a sister, and a wife ; and each and all were 
at my entire disposal, pro tern., for one silver dollar ! The 
wife, sister, and mother were all present at, and took a part 
in, the religious devotions of the evening ; and the mother was 
the same woman whom I have already referred to as having 
lost her nose and one eye from the effects of disease. 






VILLAGE OF KA-WAI-HAE. 359 

I have but a single comment to make on this human fiend. 
He had studied and graduated at Lahainaluna a few years 
since, and in 1852 he was judge of the very district in which 
he now lived. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

FROM WAI-PIO TO KA-WAI-HAE. 

Village of Ka-wai-hae. — Another Pagan Temple. — Cause of its Erec- 
tion. — False Predictions. — Moral taught by Paganism. — Ravages 
of the Small-pox. — Solitary Tillage. — Outrageous Mode of Vac- 
cination. — Preposterous Conduct of the "Board of Health." — In- 
dignation of the Foreign Population. — Testimony of Physicians. — 
Native Quackery. — Terrible Influences of a certain Superstition. 
— Total Defeat of a long-cherished Enterprise. 

Ka-wai-hae is a small, dreary village, on the shores of Ka- 
wai-hae Bay, without the least object to attract a resident to 
it. Excepting a few sickly-looking cocoa-nut-trees, which 
stood near the tide-mark, I found scarcely a piece of foliage in 
the entire region. Hot, dry, and dusty, it is a perfect Sa- 
hara ; yet this is a port of entry, and vessels have to pay for 
the privilege of anchoring in the unsafe waters. 

It really seems a mystery why any living thing should have 
concluded to reside in this desolate region. The food used by 
the natives is brought all the way from the Valley of Wai-pio. 
There is a Custom-house and Post-office, and both are con- 
ducted in a miserable native house. The house built many 
years ago by John Young, the friend and counselor of Kame- 
hameha the Great, I found yet standing ; but the old Eng- 
lishman had gone to the grave, and the house was tenanted 
by the former teacher of the Oahu Charity-school, now y'clept 
District Judge. 

A short distance to the south of this forlorn village I found 
another heiau, as perfect as when it was erected. It stands 
on the seaward side of a sloping hill, near the sea-shore. The 
massive walls are composed of lava stones ; and there stood 



390 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

the rude altars which had once been baptized with human 
blood. There were also the niches in which grim idols once 
stood, while assembled thousands paid them a soul-felt homage. 

This heiau is called Puukohala. It was built at the insti- 
gation of a priest during the reign of Kamehameha I., and 
under the assurance that it would be a safeguard against all 
the perils of war. 

But the prophet was false. The walls were not completed 
when hostilities actually commenced. The war-chiefs of the 
old conqueror assembled a powerful army, and marched to 
Ka'u to exterminate Keoua, their recent antagonist. Keoua's 
course lay by the great crater of Kilauea. An eruption an- 
ticipated the carnage of battle, and his troops, exposed to a 
heavy shower of stones, cinders, ashes, sand, and blasts of sul- 
phurous gas, were nearly all overwhelmed. "With the wreck 
of his army he met Kamehameha and his warriors a few 
days afterward, and a fiery contest commenced. For a long 
time the struggle was doubtful. At length, one of Kame- 
hameha' s warriors, disguised as a friend, went over to Keoua 
and advised him personally to seek the favor of the king, then 
at Ka-wai-hae. Retreating by the way he came, Keoua led 
offhis warriors, and proceeded by water to obtain an interview 
with the monarch. On arriving at Ka-wai-hae, he received 
the most solemn assurances of royal clemency. But the very 
moment he and his followers landed on the beach, they were 
seized, treacherously slaughtered, and their mangled remains 
were laid upon the altars of the unfinished temple, and sacri- 
ficed to the gods ! 

Such was the mercy shown to warriors who had reposed 
implicit confidence in the word of a pagan king ! Such was 
the spirit which paganism inculcated into the bosoms of its 
votaries ! 

But there is a moral in paganism which ought never to be 
forgotten. A man may stand on those altars where hundreds 
have been immolated, and shudder at the mere remembrance 
that human blood flowed from them like water, and that the 
very men who toiled to raise these walls were the first who 



RAVAGES OF THE SMALL-POX. 391 

fell victims to the accursed despotisms of priests. But the 
moral of these hellish orgies is this — that these debased isl- 
anders felt their immortality, and deemed these immolations 
the nearest way to secure it. 

This was the last pagan temple ever built on the group, 
and it is a remarkable coincidence in Hawaiian history, that, 
while it was built at Ka-wai-hae, the first blow which eventu- 
ally laid the tabu system in the dust was struck in the same 
place, and at a time, too, when human victims were piled on 
the bloody altars of that temple to insure its consecration. 

On my return to Ka-wai-hae, I found the village, almost des- 
olated by the small-pox. Out of a population of about fifty, 
twenty-three had already gone to the graves of their fathers. 
It was mournful to take a glance over that afflicted village. 
A few dwellings had already been consumed by fire. At 
nearly every door of the few houses that yet stood, a small yel- 
low flag was flying, to indicate that none but physicians were 
permitted to enter, under pain of fines and imprisonment. In 
the shades of their homes sat women and children, nearly as 
still as statues, and as desolate as lepers among the ancient 
Hebrews. It seemed as though a wave from Lethe had swept 
over that village. Not to this dreary spot only was the epi- 
demic confined. The following report of the Commissioners 
of Public Health in Honolulu, for the week ending July 22d, 
1853, shows its ravages on the island of Oahu : 

" The number of new cases of small-pox which have been 
reported during the past week for the island of Oahu, is 626 ; 
deaths reported are 216. From the other islands, the new 
cases reported are 40 ; deaths reported, 19. Total number 
of cases reported, 2342. Total number of deaths reported, 808. 

" Whole number of cases reported during the week ending 
July 28th, for the island of Oahu, is 480 ; the number of deaths 
reported in the same time is 219. 

" From the other islands the new cases are 54 ; deaths, 26. 
The total number of cases reported is 2886 ; deaths reported, 
1027. 

" The total number of burials under the direction of the 



392 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

commissioners, by the police and others, in Honolulu and vicin- 
ity, since June 26th, is 663. 

" Forty houses at Waikiki, and thirty on the Ewa side of 
Honolulu, more than two miles from the market, are being 
erected by the commissioners, under the direction of the clerk 
of the Bureau of Public Improvements." 

Accounts which have come to hand since I left the group 
give the following information : 

" The small-pox is still raging. At Honolulu there are 
only nineteen cases, but in other parts of Oahu it is still de- 
structive. The total number of cases till the 9th of Septem- 
ber was 5049 ; total deaths, 1805. The number of new cases 
for the week ending September 9th was 214 ; the previous 
week, 295. There are no authentic reports from other isl- 
ands, but rumor said that the disease was increasing at La- 
haina. 

"Office of the Commissioners of Public Health Report. — 
The number of new cases of small-pox which have been re- 
ported during the past week, for the island of Oahu, are 214 ; 
the number of deaths reported in the same time are 68. 

" From the other islands, the new cases reported are 4 ; 
deaths, 2. 

" Total number of cases reported, 5049 ; total deaths, 1805. 

" Number of cases remaining in Honolulu this day are 13. 

"Liholiho, Chairman. 

"Honolulu, September 9, 1853." 

When this terrible scourge first appeared in Honolulu, it 
naturally created an intense excitement. Vaccination be- 
came the order of the day. Physicians, native and foreign, 
and persons who boasted of their ignorance of Materia Med- 
ica, were induced to enter the lists as " knights of the lance." 
A Board of Health was established, under the specious guise 
of aiding the sick. The disease spread like a whirlwind far 
and near, and every effort was made to arrest its progress. 
Consummate quacks, both native and foreign, followed or su- 
perseded the movements of skillful physicians. This prostitu- 
tion of the calamity drew from two of the most skillful med- 



MODE OF VACCINATION. 393 

ical men in town a bitter censure, which was published in one 
of the town journals.^ The " constituted authorities" had 
appointed ?zo?z-professional men to vaccinate the natives. 
Thus armed with a " little brief authority," they sallied forth 
on their mission ; and their doings were portrayed by the 
medical men just alluded to. " Old scabs, sometimes of doubt- 
ful character, taken indiscriminately from children or grown 
persons, were mixed, on homeopathic principles, with a suf- 
ficient quantity of aqua fontana to set any therein supposed 
to be dormant spirits at liberty, and inserted faithfully into 
the skin by means of half a dozen cross-cuts, which at times 
would produce such a gush of blood as to be alone a sufficient 
safeguard against the introduction of the pretended regenera- 
tor." Much of this labor was entirely lost, but where it took, 
it produced in some cases " a broad, dirty-looking, pustule-like 
mass, which might have been taken by an inadvertent exam- 
iner for what is called ecthyma or rupia ;" in others it pro- 
duced " large festering sores of an undeterminable character, 
spreading into real ulcers, and surrounded by a secondary 
eruption." 

One of these educated physicians remarked, " ' Excellent 
vaccine' (?) is daily shown me, that is so active that in a day 
or two it has formed a large pustule ; and hundreds of arms I 
have seen with horrible ulcers, which can not be cured for 
months, many of them presenting piles of scab very much re- 
sembling the rough piles of rock upon the mountain top. # 
# # £ Verily the poor natives are sorely beset. It does 
seem as if their condition was bad enough, even though these 
newly-fledged knights of the lancet should desist from so ac- 
tively propagating the most loathsome ulcers from arm to arm. 
Humanity demands that they should let alone what they do 
not understand, and occupy themselves in some more harm- 
less amusement suited to their capacities." 

Nor is this all. The " vaccine virus" (?) employed by 
some of these disciples of Hippocrates has, in some cases, been 
productive of syphilitic disease, for it was procured from per- 

* The "Weekly Argus," June 15, 1853. 
E 2 



394 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

sons who were similarly afflicted ; and many of the natives, 
overwhelmed with superstitious fears, tried to vaccinate them- 
selves. 

But vaccination did not save multitudes ; there is evidence 
that it procured their death. The "Polynesian" of the 13th 
of August remarks : 

" It appears that even vaccination will not protect the en- 
ervated Kanakas from disease. The marshal of Honolulu re- 
ports that he had found about seven eighths of those attacked 
had been vaccinated. He then presented a paper, giving the 
number of persons taken with the disease who had been vac- 
cinated, and the number cured. We give only a summary : 
whole number vaccinated taken sick, 477 ; whole number 
cured, 209." 

And what was the " Board of Health" doing all this time ? 
While the epidemic was sweeping over Oahu, and laying mul- 
titudes in their graves, Messrs. Judd and Armstrong — who 
were the leading spirits of this " Board" — permitted vessels to 
leave Honolulu, and carry the disease to the other islands in 
the group. This was scientific and philanthropic, was it not ? 
But this was the way in which the small-pox was conveyed 
to Ka-wai-hae, and thence over the island of Hawaii. And 
while the foreign residents of Honolulu were spending their 
time and money to stay the march of this fearful pestilence, 
which was threatening to annihilate the people and sweep off 
their commerce, and while the small sum of " two thousand 
dollars" would have caused every native on the group to be 
properly vaccinated, and thereby have saved thousands of 
lives, these two philanthropic gentlemen controlled the treas- 
ury, and the entreaties and anxieties of true philanthropists 
were trodden under foot by them. It was not until the de- 
stroying angel had swept past that their superior wisdom un- 
dertook to devise means for the public safety. 

It could not be expected that the foreign population could 
pass by these outrages and say nothing. Neither did they. 
A storm of public indignation burst forth. On the 20th of 
July, 1853, a public notice was sent forth, calling upon every 



"COMMITTEE OF THIRTEEN." 395 

friend of justice to petition for the final removal of the Minis- 
ters of Finance and Public Instruction. That was the most 
important event that has ever occurred in the Sandwich Isl- 
ands since the overthrow of idolatry in 1819. It was the 
dawn of freedom's birth-day to the native and foreign popula- 
tion. It was the means of convening three public meetings 
for free discussion of individual rights and opinions by the best 
citizens on the group. As that third meeting of independent 
citizens seriously concerns the United States not less than the 
Sandwich Islands, I give an outline of its proceedings in this 
connection : 

"At a public meeting of the foreign residents, called by the 
" Committee of Thirteen," to be held in the court-house in this 
city on the evening of August 15, the following officers were 
elected : John Montgomery, President ; Frank Spencer and 
Pierce Haggerty, Vice-presidents ; and William Ladd and 
J. M. Smith, Secretaries. 

" The chairman of the cornmittee of five, to present the peti- 
tion to the king, reported that they had discharged that duty. 

" J. D. Blahi, Esq., then moved the adoption of the follow- 
ing resolutions : 

"Resolved, That we, the independent party, continue our 
organization, and the committee of thirteen continue to act 
until the purposes of this party are attained. 

"Resolved, That the appointments heretofore made by the 
committee of thirteen to fill vacancies are hereby ratified, and 
that the committee be empowered to fill all vacancies that 
may hereafter occur. 

"Resolved, That we will sustain the conrrnittee of thirteen 
in all measures it may deem expedient for accomplishing the 
object of this party. 

"J. Montgomery, Esq., being called, addressed the meet- 
ing in earnest support of the resolutions. 

" Dr. Newcombe then followed in a detailed and successful 
review of statements which appeared in the last issue of the 
Polynesian, and boldly challenged a contradiction of his state- 
ment of facts as opposed to Gr. P. Judd and Rich'd Armstrong. 



396 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

" C. C. Harris, Police Justice, addressed the meeting in op- 
position to the proceedings and purpose of the independent 
party. Mr. Harris read an extract from the petition, to which 
he obtained access in the office of the Minister of the Interior, 
and then intimated that an idea of treason or revolution was 
involved in those proceedings. 

" Mr. Blair replied with much effect to Mr. Harris, and 
charged him with being the first to introduce revolutionary or 
treasonable ideas or designs, and also of having improper pos- 
session of an extract from the petition. 

"A. B. Bates, District Attorney (and brother-in-law of Gr. 
P. Judd), during a period of thirty-five minutes, made a variety 
of remarks, designed to screen and defend the obnoxious min- 
isters, to divert the attention and purposes of the party, and to 
prevent the adoption of the resolutions. He then descended 
to indulge in some ungentlemanly personal remarks respecting 
all the officers of the meeting, and also some of the speakers 
and members of the committee of thirteen. 

" J. M. Smith being then called upon, in the course of his 
pungent observations, charged home upon certain ministers 
certain offensive acts which came to his knowledge while act- 
ing in the last Legislature. 

" The resolutions having been duly seconded and ably sup- 
ported, were enthusiastically adopted, upon which the meet- 
ing adjourned." 

I shall enter more fully into this subject on a subsequent 
page. I have already referred to the testimony of competent 
physicians as to the sufferings inflicted upon the people by in- 
competent men ; but, in all probability, the most prominent 
evil has resulted in the quackery of native doctors, if they may 
be "dignified by such an appellation. With their charms and 
incantations, together with their powerful medicines, it is un- 
doubtedly true that they have destroyed more lives than they 
have saved. 

It is not improbable that the common " neglect of the proper 
means to preserve life are the remains of superstition among 
the people. They appear to have but little sense of the value 



ORIGIN OF THE SANDWICH I S L AN D E R S. 397 

of life. They can lie down and die the easiest of any people 
with which I am acquainted. I have pretty good reason for 
the belief that they sometimes die through fear, believing that 
some person having the power to pray them to death is in the 
act of doing so, and the imagination is so wrought up that life 
yields to intense fear."^ 

The existence of this epidemic was an effectual barrier to 
my farther progress over Hawaii. I had purposed to continue 
my rambles from Ka-wai-hae to Kealakekua Bay — the death- 
place of Cook ; from thence across the spur of Mauna Loa to 
Kilauea and to Hilo. This was a plan I had long cherished, 
but the natives were falling around me like withered leaves 
in the forest ; I could get nothing done at any cost, and I could 
not finish my journey alone. Keenly did I feel the disappoint- 
ment, but there was no remedy ; so I resolved on finishing my 
tour by a few concluding observations. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

CONCLUSION. 

Origin of the Sandwich Islanders. — The Theory sustained by Tradi- 
tion. — Habits and Customs, Physical Organization and Language. 
— Their Past and Present Condition : Social, Political, and Relig- 
ious. — Probable Destiny of the Race. — Prospective History of 
Christian Institutions. — Cause for Congratulation. — One Cause of 
a grand Failure. — The English Language the only best Channel 
of Civilization. 

There is a sort of melancholy pleasure in a patient investi- 
gation of the origin of ancient races. When there are well- 
defined landmarks to aid the researches of the antiquary, his 
task is easy ; otherwise it is like threading his way along the 
galleries of buried nations in search of some one whose rest- 
ing-place is marked by no monumental marble. 

Such is the position of a tourist over the Sandwich group. 
"Answers to Questions," p. 49. 



398 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

There are no Giant Causeways or Gothic turrets to mark the 
footsteps of a great and ancient race, or to indicate that the 
arts and sciences ever flourished there. The tourist knows 
that he is in a land where battles have been fought, and hu- 
man victims offered to imaginary gods, and where the very 
genius of despotism has swayed its sceptre — a land of song in 
old times, and of ancient poets and minstrels, who wandered 
over their mountains in the train of warlike monarchs, in the 
same way as did the heroes of Ossian. He passes over the 
silent graves of extinct generations, that repose where every 
stream, crag, hill, valley, and object has its associational le- 
gends, and his very soul overflows with a poetry of romance, 
with a torrent of impulses that language is too poor to clothe 
in words. There are no histories carefully treasured up from 
past ages to tell him how multitudes have lived and died, and 
passed away forever, and how mighty earthquakes have rent 
the huge mountains asunder, when rivers of lava spread deso- 
lation and death in their pathway, and volcanic lightnings 
painted a miniature hell on the bosom of the midnight sky. 
There are none of these records to guide the traveler. He is 
placed amid the giant landmarks of Nature, and they, and 
tradition, and philosophical analogy must guide his decisions. 

Unlettered as the Hawaiians have always been, there is a 
very striking coincidence between their rugged traditions and 
the operations of natural causes and effects. The old Hawaii- 
ans attributed their own origin, as also that of their islands, to 
the direct interposition of their gods. 

Native historians affirm that " the name of the first man 
was Kahiko (ancient), and the name of the first woman was 
Kupulanakahau. Their son's name was Wakea. Among the 
first settlers from abroad were Kukalaniehu and his wife Ka- 
hakauakoko, who had a daughter by the name of Papa. "Wa- 
kea and Papa were the first progenitors of the Hawaiian race, 
both of the chiefs and common people."^ 

* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. ii., p. 211, 212. 

There are many fabulous things related of Papa. One is, that she 
was the mother of these islands. Another, that Kuhauakahi was 



ORIGIN OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDERS. 399 

All this is, of course, fabulous. By pursuing the mythical 
thread of Hawaiian tradition, it will be seen that they looked 
upon their gods as possessing the attributes and the persons 
of both gods and men. 

Nearly three centuries have elapsed since philosophy com- 
menced its speculations on the origin of our North American 
tribes and the tenants of the numerous islands composing Poly- 
nesia. Conjectures at once vague and absurd have thrown 
around this theme much perplexity and doubt. Some Deisti- 
cal writers, among whom may be reckoned the German, Dr. 
Von Martins, have asserted that the Indo- Americans are " in- 
digenous," or produced on the very soil which they inhabit ; 
a professed Christian writer also, Mr. Whiston, advanced the 
absurd and unscriptural notion of the first inhabitants of 
America being Cainites, the descendants of the first known 
polygamist, Lamech, who by some means had escaped the gen- 
eral deluge. The Jewish Rabbi, Manasseh ben Israel, being 
imposed upon by one Antonio Montesino, wrote a book en- 
titled La Esperaiica di Israel, or the Hope of Israel, in 
which he attempts to prove that America had been peopled, 
at least in part, by the descendants of the ten long lost tribes 
of Israel. This book was dedicated to the English Parlia- 
ment about the year 1650. William Penn, also, was per- 
suaded that the American Indians were derived from the He- 
brews, and a work has lately been published in England with 
the title, " The Ten Tribes Historically Identified with the 
Aborigines of the Western Hemisphere." 

The philosophical theory that the Polynesians have come 
from the Orient is based on a more than hypothetical foundation. 
Whatever may have been the chances or designs that brought 

born from her head and became a god. Furthermore, that Wakea 
and Papa had a deformed child, which they buried at the end of 
their house, where it sprouted and grew, and became a taro {Arum 
escule?itwn), and hence the origin of the taro plant, the Hawaiian 
staff of life. The leaf of this plant was denominated laukapalili, and 
the lower part of its stalk haloa, from which Haloa, one of the kings, 
derived his name. It would not be easy to mention all the marvel- 
ous statements made concerning this Papa. 



400 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

such vast numbers of inhabitants to the two great continents 
of the West, as well as to the Pacific Islands, it is certain that, 
in the main, the races of the Continental regions were widely 
different from the Polynesians in language, habits, customs, 
and religion. "When Cortes demolished the sovereignty of 
the Montezumas, and when Pizae.ro dethroned the last of the 
Incas, the warriors of these Catholic heroes were astonished 
at the magnificence and civilization of the old Aztec and Pe- 
ruvian kings. At the discovery of the Polynesian Islands, 
nothing of this sort was seen among the rude inhabitants. 

The Oriental origin of the islanders of the Pacific is more 
than merely theoretic. The American Journal of Science 
remarks : " That the Polynesians belong to the same race as 
that which peoples the East Indian Islands, is at present uni- 
versally admitted. If any doubt had remained on this point, 
the labors of William Yon Humboldt and Professor Busch- 
man would have been sufficient to set it at rest. Having 
traced all the principal tribes of Polynesia back to the Samo- 
an and Tongan group, it next becomes a question of interest 
how far the information which we now possess will enable us 
to verify the supposed emigration of the first settlers in these 
groups from some point in the Malaisian Archipelago." 

Coming now to the Sandwich Islanders, it is certain that 
they have derived their origin from the same great family, but 
more immediately from some group or groups of islands in the 
South Pacific. No theory, however plausible, is sufficient to 
invest them with a western continental origin. It is an un- 
doubted fact that "they are evidently of the same race with 
the inhabitants of most of the groups of islands in the East 
Pacific. The people of New Zealand, the Society and Tahiti 
Islands, the Harvey Islands, the Friendly Islands, the Naviga- 
tor's Islands, the Marquesas Islands, the Sandwich Islands, and 
some others of the same range, exhibit the same features, the 
same manners and customs, and speak substantially the same 
language. The sameness of language is a fact so well under- 
stood that there is no need of quoting authorities to confirm it."* 

* Dibble's History, p. 5. 



ORIGIN OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDERS. 401 

The peopling of the Hawaiian Islands affords no more dif- 
ficulty than the peopling of any other group in the Pacific. 
It is well understood that the habits of the Polynesians were 
migratory. On this topic, the Samoan Reporter of March, 
1848, contains an article which, in this connection, is at once 
curious and invaluable, and well deserves a very careful pe- 
rusal by the reader : 

To the Editors of the Samoan Reporter. 

" Gentlemen, — I have much pleasure in forwarding to you 
the following facts, which have lately come under my notice, 
and if you think they will in any way prove interesting as 
connected with the migration and population of the South 
Sea Islands, you are quite at liberty to publish them. 

" In the month of October last I sent my vessel to Q,uiros' 
Island, a low, uninhabited coral island, about one hundred and 
fifty miles to the north of Samoa, and on her arrival there, 
the captain found two natives on shore, who, it appears, had 
been drifted to that spot about seven months before. They 
were brought to Samoa, and I took them in my charge, and 
soon found that, with the aid of the Samoan, Tahitian, and 
Rarotongan languages, I could converse with them quite freely. 
One of them is named Koteka, and is a native of Manahiki ; 
the other is from Fakaaho, and from the former I learned the 
following particulars. About the time the last great comet 
appeared, Koteka, with several others of his countrymen, con- 
ceived the idea of a voyage of discovery, and accordingly put 
to sea in one of their large double canoes ; the party journey- 
ed for three days, but, not finding any land, they determined 
on returning to Manahiki ; the canoe was put about, and they 
steered, as they imagined, for the land ; but, at the expiration 
of the second day, they again altered their minds, and still 
wished to follow out their first intentions. They then alter- 
ed their course, and continued sailing for seven days, when 
they saw land-birds, which led them to hope that some land 
"was near, and which they expected shortly to reach ; but, to 
their disappointment, a strong southwest wind sprung up, and 



402 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

as they were unable to contend against it, they were compel- 
led again to steer for Manahiki. On the evening of the sixth 
day they perceived the smell of fire, which induced them to 
lay to for the night, and at day-break, to their joy, found them- 
selves near to their own land, but soon discovering they were, 
unfortunately, to leeward of the island, they pulled hard for 
the shore ; but the wind veering to the northeast, they were 
blown off, and for sixteen days were drifted about at the mer- 
cy of the winds and waves, and had but little or nothing to 
eat. Despondency reigned in their bosoms, and several of 
them lay down in the canoe, shortly expecting to die, when 
one espied land in the distance, which they providentially 
reached in about two hours. It proved to be Gluiros' Island. 
"When they had been there about three months, an American 
whaler called, and the captain agreed to take them back to 
their own land ; but after some detention, and not being able 
to find Manahiki, they were landed at Fakaaho, one of the 
Union Group. 

" Some time after this, when Koteka, with nine others, 
were going from Fakaaho to Nukunonu, a gale of wind sprung 
up and blew them out of sight of land. They were now quite 
at a loss in what direction to steer, and were tossed to and fro 
on the wide Pacific for thirty-six days — nine of which they 
lived on cocoa-nuts, and the remaining twenty-seven they sub- 
sisted by eating parts of their clothing soaked in rain-water. 
Eight of their companions died, and their bodies were com- 
mitted to the deep. On the morning of the thirty-sixth day, 
Koteka saw land near, but was too weak to steer for it ; but 
a kind Providence conveyed their frail canoe in safety over 
the reef, and it was washed on the shore of the very island to 
which they had been formerly drifted. They had been there 
seven months when my vessel called and brought them to 
Samoa. 

"It is my intention shortly to convey them to their own 
land, and I sincerely hope, as they have embraced the Chris- 
tian religion themselves, they will, on their return to their na- 
tive shore, be able to induce their fellow-countrymen to do the 



ORIGIN OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDERS. 493 

same, and then it will be found that the privations and dan- 
gers they experienced have not been in vain. 

" J. C. Williams, U. S. Consul. 
" Yailele, Feb. 18th, 1848." 

These migratory habits of the Polynesians afford a clew to 
the long-disputed method by which their islands were tenant- 
ed. This method is clearly shown in the chscriniinating lan- 
guage of the justly-lamented Williams : 

" Let us consider for a moment the distance from the Malay 
coast to Tahiti, the Sandwich and other islands. .That dis- 
tance is about a hundred degrees, or seven thousand miles ; 
and it is thought to have been impossible for the natives to 
perform such a voyage with their vessels and imperfect knowl- 
edge of navigation. If no islands intervened, I should admit 

Do ' 

the conclusiveness of this objection ; or, if we were to assert 
that they came direct from the Malay coast to islands so far 
east, the assertion could not be maintained. But if we can 
show that such a voyage may be performed by very short 
stages, the difficulty will disappear. 

" Suppose, then, that the progenitors of the present islanders 
had started from the Malay coast or Sumatra, what would 
have been their route ? By sailing five degrees, or three hun- 
dred miles, they would reach Borneo ; then, by crossing the 
Straits of Macassar, which are only about two hundred miles 
wide, they would arrive at the Celebes. These are eight de- 
grees from New Guinea ; but the large islands of Bessey and 
Ceram intervene. The distance from New Guinea to the 
New Hebrides is twelve hundred miles, but the islands be- 
tween them are so numerous that the voyage may be made 
by short and easy stages. Five hundred miles from the New 
Hebrides are the Fijis ; and about three hundred miles farther 
on, the Friendly Islands. Another stage of five hundred miles 
brings you to the Navigators ; but between these two points 
three other groups intervene. From the Navigators to the 
Hervey Islands the distance is about seven hundred miles, 
and from thence to the Society Group about four hundred 



404 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

more. Thus, I think, every difficulty vanishes, for the longest 
stage in the voyage from Sumatra to Tahiti would be from 
the Navigators to the Hervey group, seven hundred miles ; 
and the Rarotongans themselves say that their progenitor, 
Kakira, came from thence."^ 

But there is undoubted testimony that mere accident has 
introduced many of these islanders to unknown islands, where 
they lived and died, and have given place to their own descend- 
ants. Sometimes, in passing from one island to another, canoes 
filled with men and women are blown out to sea and from sight 
of land. Under such circumstances, they are liable to wander 
about on the bosom of the deep, and either perish or fall in 
with some other group of islands. Numerous instances of 
this kind have occurred within a few years past. Some of 
them have been compelled to forsake their homes during pe- 
riods of savage warfare. Vessels, having lost their reckoning 
at sea, and drifting into unknown currents, have been carried 
into unknown seas, and wrecked on these distant islands, or 
been spoken in the midst of the ocean. 

In 1832, a Japanese junk came ashore on the island of 
Oahu. A responsible witness of this event says : " The Jap- 
anese of whom I am now to speak made the shore of Oahu 
in a junk, and anchored near the harbor at Waialua, on the 
last Sabbath in December, 1832. They cast anchor about 
mid-day, and were soon visited by a canoe, as the position of 
the junk, being anchored near a reef of rocks, and other cir- 
cumstances, indicated distress. Four individuals were found 
on board, all but one severely afflicted with the scurvy ; two 
of them incapable of walking, and a third nearly so. The 
fourth was in good health, and had the almost entire manage- 
ment of the vessel. This distressed company had been out at 
sea ten or eleven months, without water, except as they now 
and then obtained rain water from the deck of the vessel. 
Their containers for water were few, adapted to a voyage of 

* "A Narrative of Missionary Enterprise in the South Sea Islands. 
By John Williams." First American edition: Appleton and Co.; 
New York, 1837, p. 504, 505. 



ORIGIN OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDERS. 4Q5 

not more than two or three weeks. The junk was bound from 
one of the southern islands of the Japanese group to Jeddo, 
laden with fish, when it encountered a typhoon, and was driven 
out into seas altogether unknown to those on board, and, after 
wandering almost a year,. made the island of Oahu. 

" The original number on board the junk was nine ; these 
were reduced by disease and death, induced probably by want 
of water and food, to four only. 

■M. Jtm Jfc' Jfr Jfc Jt, Jfc -M. 

W W W W "K* *7P W *f? 

" Allien the people saw the junk, and learned from whence 
it came, they said it was plain now from whence they them- 
selves originated. They had supposed before that they could 
not have come from either of the continents ; but now they 
saw a people much resembling themselves in person, and in 
many of their habits — a people, too, who came to their islands 
without designing to come. They said, ' It is plain now that 
we came from Asia.' "* 

" Later still, the 6th of June, 1839, the whale ship James 
Loper, Captain Cathcart, fell in with the wreck of a Japanese 
junk in lat. 30° N., and long. 174° E. from Greenwich, about 
midway between the islands of Japan and the Sandwich Isl- 
ands. Seven of the crew were rescued, and brought to these 
islands the ensuing fall. 

" Again, three Japanese sailors were rescued from a wreck 
in the North Pacific (June 9th, 1840), in lat. 34° K, long. 
174° 3CK E., more than 2500 miles from their homes. They 
were bound to Jeddo, and, driven beyond their port by a west- 
erly gale, had been drifting about for one hundred and eighty- 
one days when found."! 

The antiquity and origin of the Hawaiians, in common with 
that of other Polynesians, are confirmed by traditions which are 
peculiarly Oriental in their character. They have a tradition 
that Mauiakalana, one of their gods, went to the sun, and 
chased his beams because they flew so rapidly ; also, that he 
draped with a hook these islands from Maui to Kaula, tow- 

* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., p. 29Y, 299. 
f Dibble's History, pp. 12, 18. 



406 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ing them after a canoe, and had those in the canoe landed 
safe at Hilo, Hawaii, then all the islands of the group would 
have been united in one ; but one of the company looking be- 
hind him, the hook broke, and the expected union failed of its 
consummation. It is said, also, that he searched for fire, and 
found it in the alae (burning forehead, the name of a bird whose 
upper mandible is of broad expansion, and a bright red color). 

The cosmogony of other Polynesians is acknowledged to 
have had its origin in the will and actions of beings whom 
they denominated gods. 

" As to the mythology of the Fijians, it is a tradition among 
them that the world was made by Ndegei or Tenge, the chief 
of the gods. He is partly a serpent and partly a stone, and 
dwells in one of their high mountains. He has a son who is 
mediator between his father and inferior spirits. The sons of 
the gods in Samoa also formerly acted as mediators. " # 

The Hawaiians have a tradition of the flood, in which dis- 
tinct allusion is made to the ark, a laau — not a canoe or ship, 
but something that floated — the height, and length, and 
breadth of which were equal, containing men, and also an- 
imals, and food in great abundance. The name of Noah fre- 
quently occurs in their traditions. 

The Fijians refer to the same catastrophe. They have a 
tradition of a flood in which the natives were saved in two 
canoes made by the carpenters' god. 

Hawaiian tradition says that man was originally made of 
the dust of the earth by Kane and Kanaloa, two of their prin- 
cipal deities. 

A very singular tradition exists among the Fijians. They 
firmly believe that Mautu, the son of Ndegei, and the medi- 
ator above mentioned, first made a human figure of clay ; but 
the female was made first. By this pair the islands were 
peopled. The Samoan tradition is, that the son of their great 
god Tangaloa, by his father's order, formed the first human 
pair out of the bodies of two worms, and took life for them 
down from heaven. 

* Samoan Reporter, March, 1848. 



THEORY SUSTAINED BY CUSTOMS. 497 

The Oriental origin of the Hawaiians is plainly seen in their 
habits and customs. 

They offered their first-fruits to the gods. 

The Samoans did the same. 

Among the Hawaiians, till the arrival of the missionaries, 
the practice of circumcision was common. The act was at- 
tended with religious ceremonies, and performed by a priest. 
An uncircumcised person was considered mean and despicable. 
The practice did not cease till formally prohibited by Kaahu- 
manu. 

The Samoans have a practice answering the same purpose. 

Every person and thing that touched a dead body was con- 
sidered unclean, and continued so a certain season, and till 
purified by religious ceremonies. 

The same purifications were enjoined upon the Jews under 
the Levitical priesthood. 

Females after child-birth, and after other periods of infirm- 
ity, were enjoined strict separation, and were subjected to cer- 
emonies of purification, similar to those of the Jews, on pen- 
alty of death. 

The Hawaiians had cities of refuge for the same purpose, 
and under similar regulations with those of the Jews. 

In referring to Sumatra, Marsden says : 

"Mothers carry the children, not on the arm, as our nurses 
do, but straddling on the hip. # # # # # 
This practice, I have been told, is common in some parts of 
Wales. It is much safer than the other method, less tiresome 
to the nurse, and the child has the advantage of sitting in a 
less constrained posture. But the defensive armor of stays, 
and offensive weapons called pins, might be some objection to 
the general introduction of the fashion in England. The chil- 
dren are nursed but little ; not confined by any swathing or 
bandages ; and being suffered to roll about the floor, soon learn 
to walk and shift for themselves." — History of Sumatra, 3d 
edition, p. 285. 

Precisely the same custom applies to the Hawaiian women 
at this day. 



408 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

The physical organization of*the Sandwich Islanders proves 
them to belong to the great Malayan family, so widely scat- 
tered over the vast Pacific. They are of a Gipsy, or brown 
color, tall, as a general thing, and well made, having agreea- 
able features. In disposition they are cheerful, good-humor- 
ed, and hospitable, but fickle, and often acting with petty cun- 
ning, hypocrisy, or selfishness to gain their purposes. In these 
traits there is a close affinity with other groups, but in hon- 
esty they are certainly superior to most. The affinity and 
derivation of natives are ascertained chiefly by resemblances 
in person, language, manners, customs, and religion. 

But language is the chief medium through which it may 
be decided, not only that the groups stretching from Easter 
Island in the east, to the borders of the Papuan tribes of the 
New Hebrides, &c, in the west, and from New Zealand in 
the south, to the Sandwich Islands in the north, are peopled 
by races having a common parentage, but that all these races 
have also a common origin with the Malays. 

" Languages, as intellectual creations of man, and as close- 
ly interwoven with the development of mind, are, independ- 
ently of the national form which they exhibit, of the greatest 
importance in the recognition of similarities or differences in 
races. This importance is especially owing to the clew which 
a community of descent affords in treading that mysterious lab- 
yrinth in which the connection of physical powers and intel- 
lectual forces manifests itself in a thousand different forms. "^ 
Language can not utter falsehoods, therefore it is the best 
guide to the primitive traduction of tribes and nations. 

One of the ablest works ever published, describing the hab- 
its, customs, origin, and language of the Polynesians, was 
written by Dr. J. D. Lang, when Principal of the Australian 
College, Sydney. In discussing the theme of language, he 
says : 

" The Polynesian branches of that ancient language doubt- 
less bear a closer resemblance to each other than to the dia- 
lects of the Indian Archipelago, but this is just what might 

* " Cosmos," vol. i., p. 357. 



EVIDENCE OF THEIR ORIGIN. 4Q9 

have been expected from the comparative isolation of the 
South Sea Islands on the one hand, and from the vicinity of 
the Indian Archipelago to the vast continent of Asia on the 
other. 

" The modern language of the Malays abounds in Arabic 
words, introduced, along with the Mohammedan delusion, by 
the Moors of the Mogul empire. It abounds also in Sanscrit 
vocables — the evidences and remains of the ancient inter- 
course of the nation with the Hindoos of Western India. The 
former or more recent of these foreign admixtures, compared 
with the rest of the language, presents the appearance of a 
number of quartz pebbles imbedded in a sheet of ice, their 
edges rough and broken, and their general aspect exhibiting 
nothing in common with the homogeneous mass into which 
they have been frozen. The result of the latter or more an- 
cient of these admixtures, in consequence of the more liquid 
character of the Sanscrit language, resembles a compound 
fluid, homogeneous in appearance, but differing essentially, 
however, from each of the simple ingredients of which it is 
composed. But the skeleton of the language — its bones and 
sinews, so to speak — consists of the ancient Malayan or Poly- 
nesian tongue."^ 

As an illustration of his arguments, the same author brings 
forward a comparative vocabulary, from which a few exam- 
ples will be sufficient. Some of the words are identical, while 
the difference in others is so slight that their identity can be 
easily traced : 

English. Polynesian. Malay. 

The eye, Mata (universally), Mata (universally). 

To eat, Maa (strong guttural), Macan (Javanese, Man- 

gan). 
To kill, Mate, Mate. 

A bird, Manu, Manu (Prince's Island, 

Manuck). 
Fish, Ika, Ika (Javanese, Iwa). 

* " View of the Origin and Migrations of the Polynesian Nation. 
By John Dunmore Lang, D.D." London: James Cochran & Co., 
1834, p. 23-25. 

S 



410 



SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 



English. 


Polynesian. 


Malay. 


A louse, 


Outou, 




Coutou. 


Rain, 


Euwa, 




Udian. 


"Water, 


Wai or Yai, 




Yai (Ambronese). 


The foot, 


Tapao, 




Tapaan. 


A musquito, 


Nammou, 




Gnammuck. 


To scratch, 


Hearu, 




Garu. 


Coccos roots, 


Taro and Talo 


> 


Tallas, 


Hog, 


Buaa, 




Buia (Achinese). 


Inland, 


Uta, 




Utan. 


Name, 


Ingoa, 




Ingoa. 


Hair, 


Huru, 




Ru (Island of Savu). 


Fire, 


Auai, obsolete 
(Tahitian), 


Apuaia 


Apuai (Achinese). 


Man, 


Ora (guttural, 


Tah.), 


r Orang.* 


Gentleman, 


Rangatira (N. 


Zeal'd.), 



Relationship is clearly expressed, and compound words or 
ideas are formed in the Chinese and Malayan languages merely 
by the contiguous arrangement of certain primitive words, thus : 

Chinese. 
Tao, 



Tao-faa, 

Sao, 

Sao-tchee, 



Head. 

Hair of the head. 

Hand. 

Finger. 



Malay and Polynesian. 
Ka-too, Head (I. Sav.). 

Ru-katoo, Hair of the head. 
Mata, Eye. 

Mata orang, Man's eye. 



In some instances there is a similarity of use of the parti- 
cles in both languages, in others they are identical, thus : 



Chinese. 




Polynesian. 




Y ko nyan, 


A man. 


E manu, 


A bird. 


Y ko chu, 


A tree. 


E ko nai, 


The chin. 


Ko tyan, 


The heel. 


Kotiro, 


A girl. 


Sounds both similar and peculiar abound in 


both, languages : 


Chinese. 




Polynesian. 




T'hai, 


Sea. 


Tai, 


The sea. 


Yu, 


Rain. 


Ua, 


Rain. 


Tong, 


.East. 


Tonga, 


East. 


Ngau, 


Bite. 


Ngau, 


Bite. 


Ko tsau, 


Blood. 


Toto, 


Blood, f 



* « 



Yiew of the Origin and Migrations of the Polynesian Nation. 
By John Dunmore Lang, D.D." London: James Cochran & Co., 
1834, p. 22. f Ibid., p. 47. 



THEIR PAST AND PRESENT CONDITION. 4^ 

But not only does the Polynesian manifest a close affinity 
with the Oriental, it is similar in all its branches : 

"To a person familiar with any one of the dialects, it be- 
comes apparent at once, on a very slight acquaintance with 
the other, that they all have the same root. As the voyager, 
acquainted with any one of the dialects, passes from one group 
of islands to another, though thousands of miles of unbroken 
waters lie between, he feels that he is still among a people of 
substantially the same tongue ; being able to converse with 
one branch of the numerous family, he finds little difficulty in 
introducing himself to all the rest. Some of the South Sea 
missionaries, being well acquainted with the language of Ta- 
hiti, can converse with considerable ease with the inhabitants 
of the Friendly, Navigator, Austral, Permotu, Marquesan, and 
Sandwich groups, although their only opportunity for acquiring 
a knowledge of these several dialects is an occasional visit to 
their shores, and an interview now and then with a wander- 
ing native." 5 * 

After glancing at the origin of the Sandwich Islanders, it 
becomes an interesting duty to examine their social, political, 
and religious condition, 'past and present. 

The first feature that calls the attention to the past is their 
social condition, and a darker picture can hardly be present- 
ed to the contemplation of man. They had their frequent 
boxing-matches on a public arena, and it was nothing uncom- 
mon to see thirty or forty left dead on the field of contest. 

As gamblers, they were inveterate. The game was in- 
dulged in by every person, from the king of each island to the 
meanest of his subjects. The wager accompanied every scene 
of public amusement. They gambled away their property to 
the last vestige of all they possessed. They staked every ar- 
ticle of food, their growing crops, the clothes they wore, their 
lands, wives, daughters, and even the very bones of their arms 
and legs — to be made into fish-hooks after they were dead. 
These steps led to the most absolute and crushing poverty. 

They had their dances, which were of such a character as 
* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., p. 289. 



412 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

not to be conceived of by a civilized mind, and were accom- 
panied by scenes which would have disgraced even Nero's 
revels. Nearly every night, with the gathering darkness, 
crowds would retire to some favorite spot, where, amid every 
species of sensual indulgence, they would revel until the morn- 
ing twilight. At such times the chiefs would lay aside their 
authority, and mingle with the lowest courtesan in every de- 
gree of debauchery. i 

Thefts, robberies, murders, infanticide, licentiousness of the 
most debased and debasing character, burying their infirm and 
aged parents alive, desertion of the sick, revolting cruelties to 
the unfortunate maniac, cannibalism, and drunkenness, form a 
list of some of the traits in social life among the Hawaiians in 
past days. 

Their drunkenness was intense. They could prepare a 
drink, deadly intoxicating in its nature, from a mountain plant 
called the awa {Piper methysticum). A bowl of this disgust- 
ing liquid was always prepared and served out just as a party 
of chiefs were sitting down to their meals. It would some- 
times send the victim into a slumber from which he never 
awoke. The confirmed awa drinker could be immediately 
recognized by his leprous appearance. 

But by far the darkest feature in their social condition was 
seen in the family relation. Society, however, is only a word 
of mere accommodation, designed to express domestic relations 
as they then existed. 

" Society was, indeed, such a sea of pollution as can not 
well be described. Marriage was unknown, and all the sa- 
cred feelings which are suggested to our minds on mention of 
the various social relations, such as husband and wife, parent 
and child, brother and sister, were to them, indeed, as though 
they had no existence. There was, indeed, in this respect, a 
dreary blank — a dark chasm from which the soul instinctive- 
ly recoils. There were, perhaps, some customs which imposed 
some little restraint upon the intercourse of the sexes, but those 
customs were easily dispensed with, and had nothing of the 
force of established rules. It was common for a husband to 



THEIR PAST AND PRESENT C ON DITION. 4^3 

have many wives, and for a wife also to have many husbands. 
The nearest ties of consanguinity were but little regarded, 
and, among the chiefs especially, the connection of brother 
with sister, and parent with child, were very common. For 
husbands to interchange wives, and for wives to interchange 
husbands, was a common act of friendship, and persons who 
would not do this were not considered on good terms of socia- 
bility. For a man or woman to refuse a solicitation for illicit 
intercourse was considered an act of meanness ; and so thor- 
oughly was this sentiment wrought into their minds, that, even 
to the present day, they seem not to rid themselves of the feel- 
ing of meanness in making a refusal. When a solicitation is 
made, they seem to imagine, or, at least, to feel, notwithstand- 
ing their better knowledge, that to comply is generous, liberal, 
and social, and that to refuse is reproachful and niggardly."^ 

It would be impossible to enumerate or specify the crimes 
which emanated from this state of affairs. 

Their political condition was the very genius of despotism, 
systematically and deliberately conducted. Kings and chiefs 
were extremely jealous of their succession, and the more noble 
then: blood, the more they were venerated by the common peo- 
ple. The Egyptian Pharaohs and the Roman C^sars never 
employed more studied precautions to compel the entire sub- 
mission of their subjects, than the kings and chiefs of Hawaii 
did to secure the unreserved obedience of their own people. 
The will of the high chief was a law from which there was 
no appeal. He could decide all cases of disputation, levy tax- 
es, and proclaim war, just as best suited his purposes, and none 
but the royal counselors were permitted to take the least ex- 
ception. During their life, they were approached with the 
most absolute veneration ; and after death, they were dei- 
fied and worshiped. 

But the condition of affairs could not be different, for the 

character of the government was strictly feudal. A system 

of landlordism existed, decreasing in subserviency until it 

reached the monarch, whom it left an absolute lord. This 

* Dibble's History, p. 126, 127. 



414 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

system was originated and sustained by war. The victors al- 
ways seized the lands of the vanquished, and then gave them 
to their followers. If a king, or chief, or sub-landlord, when 
passing through his district, happened to see a fine fczro-patch, 
a hog, a mat, or a calabash, that suited his ideas, he had only 
to claim it, and it became his own. If they wished to build 
a house, cultivate a tract of land, turn a water-course, or erect 
a temple for the gods, they had only to summon the people 
from a district, the entire island, or a neighboring island, and 
the work was speedily accomplished. To refuse to obey the 
summons was to insure instant death. There were no courts 
of justice, no trials by jury, no fixed laws, either oral or writ- 
ten. The property, the services, the life, and almost the souls 
of the people, were claimed by their rulers. 

But the broadest and most gloomy page of their past histo- 
ry is that which records their religious condition. It was a 
unity of Church and State. The two heads of the nation 
were the king and priest, but the hierarch was paramount. 
There was a reciprocity of sacerdotal and kingly power : the 
first promised the favor of the gods, the latter the support of 
the spears hurled by banded warriors. The paramount claims 
of the hierarch soon found a solid support in the foundation 
of the most hellish system — the Inquisition of the " Holy (?) 
See" excepted ! — that has ever cursed fallen humanity. This 
was the tabu system.^ It had its origin in lust. Its subse- 
quent support was in the shedding of human blood. Sadly 
and darkly the tale is told by their own historians. 

" When Hoohokukalani had become large and fair, and 
her father perceived that she was a beauty, he desired to en- 
joy her society unobserved by his wife ; but his plans for this 
purpose proving unsuccessful, he inquired of his priest how he 
might elude observation, at the same time apprising him of 
his reasons for wishing to do so. The priest replied, ' If it 
would gratify you to commit incest, we will appoint certain 
nights to be consecrated for you, in which you must dwell 
separate from Papa ; and other nights must be appropriated 

* Restriction or prohibition. 



THEIR PAST AND PRESENT C ON D IT ION. 4^5 

to her also, when it shall not be proper even for her husband 
to appear in her presence. 

m. ««. j£. ja. Ji- jf. 

TP TT" "3S* "TV' "A" "Jf 

" ' I will announce to you both that this is by divine ap- 
pointment, and when Papa hears that such is the pleasure of 
the gods, she will readily acquiesce. This is one step — with- 
draw yourself, and eat not with her. This is another — con- 
secrate as sacred to the gods a part of the fish, and food, and 
beasts. Furthermore, let temples be built for the deities — for 
Ku, for Lono, for Kane, and Kanaloa ; also for the forty thou- 
sand of gods, and for the four hundred thousands ; and, lastly, 
of every thing obtained by the hand of man, let the first-fruits 
be devoted to the deities.' 

V When the preceding outline was well digested in their 
minds, Wakea visited Papa, and related it fully to her, giving 
her to understand that it was wholly the revelation of a priest 
to him — concealing his own part in the affair — to all which 
Papa cordially assented ; whereupon her husband returned to 
his confederate to inform him of her acquiescence. 

JL. M, AS. J*. J4. J*. 

"7P W W w Tj" •W 

" On the second of the tabu nights, Wakea accomplished 
his desire with Hoohokukalaxe. 

" The priest agreed that in the course of his prayers the 
next morning he would wake up Wakea. So, when he saw 
the day breaking, he commenced his devotions, and on pro- 
nouncing that part of the service which was designed to arouse 
Wakea, he did not hear, for he slept very soundly. The sun 
hastened up, the sleeper awoke, covered his head with kapa, 
sallied forth, and walked rapidly that Papa might not see him. 
But she did see him, and knew what he had done, and was 
angry, and went to him and beat him. Wakea took hold of 
her and led her gently out of doors ; but she would not be 
pacified. He then dragged her to another place, where they 
discussed the question of their separation, an event which ac- 
tually followed. That day Wakea prohibited Papa from eat- 
ing pork, and bananas, and cocoa-nuts ; also certain kinds of 
fish ; also the turtle and tortoise."* 

* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., p. 215, 217. 



416 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

As the tabu system expanded and strengthened, it imposed 
restrictions on every act, word, and thought ; it covered every 
article of food, and related to every act of religious worship ; 
it was so framed, that it was absolutely impossible not to vio- 
late its bloody requirements ; its mandates even entered the 
sanctuaries of farnilies, and imposed a heavy restriction upon 
the rights of men and women. When a couple entered the 
marriage state, the man must build an eating-house for him- 
self, another for his god, another for a dormitory, another for 
his wife to eat in, and another in which to beat kapa : these 
four the men had to build. In addition to this, he had food 
to provide ; then he heated the oven and baked for his wife ; 
then he heated the oven and baked for himself ; then he open- 
ed the oven containing his wife's taro, and pounded it ; then 
he performed the same operation on his own. The husband 
ate in his house, and the wife ate in hers. They did not eat 
together, lest they should be slain for violating the tabu. 

A tabu existed in relation to idols. The gods of " the chiefs 
and common people were of wood. If one made his idol of 
an apple-tree, the apple-tree was afterward tabu to him. So 
of all the trees of which idols were made. So, too, of articles 
of food. If one employed taro as an object of his idolatry, to 
him the taro became sacred, and might not be eaten by him. 
Thus it was with every object of which a god was made. 
Birds were objects of worship. If a hen, the hen was to him 
sacred. So of all the birds which were deified. Beasts were 
objects of worship. If a hog, the hog was sacred to him who 
chose it for his god. So, too, of all quadrupeds of which gods 
were made. Stones were objects of worship, and tabu, so 
that one might not sit on them. Fish were idolized. If one 
adopted the shark as his god, to him the shark was sacred. 
So, also, of all fish ; so of all things in heaven and earth : even 
the bones of men were transformed into objects of worship." 

A tabu was imposed on such accidental events as it was 
impossible for the common people to avoid. Hence, if the 
shadow of a common man fell on a chief — if he went into a 
chief's yard — if he put on a kapa or malo of the chief, or 



THEIR PAST AND PRESENT C ON DITION. 4^7 

wore the chief's consecrated mat, or if he went upon the 
chief's house, it was death ! So, if he stood when the king's 
bathing- water, or kapa, or malo were carried along, or when 
the king's name were mentioned in song, or if he walked in 
the shade of a chief's house with his head besmeared with 
clay, or with a wreath round it, or wearing a kapa mantle, 
or with his head wet, it was certain death ! 

There were many other offenses of the people which were 
made capital by the chiefs and priests. If a woman ate pork, co- 
coa-nuts, bananas, a certain kind offish, or lobster, it was death. 
To be found in a canoe on a tabu day was death. „ If a man 
committed a crime, he died ; if he was irreligious, he died ; if 
he indulged in connubial pleasures on a tabu day, or if he made 
the slightest noise while prayers were saying, he had to die. 

While the common people could commit no crime under 
penalty of death, the priests did as they pleased. 

" When one deemed it desirable that a temple should be 
built, he applied to the king, who commanded the natives to 
construct it : which being done, the king and priest were sa- 
cred ; and on the day when a log of wood was obtained for a 
god, a man was sacrificed in order to impart power to the 
wooden deity. When sacrifices were offered, men were slain 
and laid upon the altar with swine ; if a fish proper for an 
offering could not be obtained, a man was sacrificed in its 
stead ; and human victims were required on other occasions." 

The king and the priest were much alike, and they consti- 
tuted the main burden of the nation. If a temple had to be 
built, the entire burden fell on the people ; and when it was 
erected, they had to find levies of fruits, fish, hogs, fowls, ka- 
pas, and other articles for sustaining the service offered to the 
gods. When human sacrifices were needed, the priest had 
only to look at the king, and say, "Let there be men for the 
god." The king consented. " Let there be land for the god." 
The king consented. " Let there be a house for the god." 
The king consented. Then the priest addressed the king 
again, " Let a hog be hung up for the god ; the thigh for the 
god, the head for the god ; let there be certain fish for the 

S2 



418 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

god — the first fish for the god." The king consented. Then 
the priest proceeded, " Let the land of the priest be sacred — 
free from taxes ; let the wife of the priest be sacred — no one 
using freedom with her ; let the house of the priest be sacred — ■ 
no one wantonly entering it ; in short, let all that belongs to 
the priest be in safety." 

The time would fail, and so would the reader's patience, 
under a third of what could be enumerated relative to the 
withering curses, the crushing despotisms, which emanated 
from this union of pagan kings and pagan priests. The ma- 
jority of these wrongs are forgotten, or they repose in the 
graves of past generations. 

But it is time we turned from these dark realities to exam- 
ine the condition of the Hawaiian people in 1853. Of this 
condition the reader will be able to form his own conclusions 
from what has been said in the previous pages of this volume. 
Although ecclesiastical law is paramount at this day, as it 
was in the days of old, still no man can sustain the assertion, 
so frequently made, " that the people are worse off than for- 
merly they were, and that no good has been achieved." This 
language is utterly Utopian, and will not stand the stern test 
of truth. If I may be permitted to advance my own feeble 
testimony, I am bold to say that there has been a change, and 
that change has heen for the best! I have stood on the very 
altars where men, as good as myself, were once immolated to 
imaginary gods ; I have climbed the ruined walls of temples 
which once contained thousands of superstitious devotees ; I 
have handled some of the dust of human bones that were once 
burned at the back of those time-worn altars. In such po- 
sitions, I have pondered over the scenes of by-gone years, and 
have thought of the moments which then surrounded me — the 
ever-glorious sunlight, the vacated temples, the victimless al- 
tars, the grave-like silence, the departed priests, the dispersed 
worshipers — and it seemed as though I could hear, in loud 
trumpet-tones, speeding over the entire archipelago, the spirit 
of what had occurred before the first Protestant missionary set 
his foot on their shores ; 



THEIR PAST AND PRESENT CON DITION. 4^9 

" LlHOLIHO IS KING, THE ISLANDS ARE AT PEACE, THE TABU 
SYSTEM IS NO MORE, THE GODS ARE DESTROYED, AND THE TEM- 
PLES ARE DEMOLISHED." 

Verily there has been a change ! and that change has been 
great, and he who denies it insults his own intelligence and 
ignores the evidence of common sense. In this connection, the 
opinion of such a man as Hon. B,. C. Wyllie can not fail to 
be respected. After a residence of several years at the isl- 
ands, he frankly expressed himself thus : 

" Whatever faults may attach to the government (and I 
would not deny that it may have many), the experience of the 
last thirty-two years shows that it possesses within itself the 
means of self-improvement, and that in the abolition of idola- 
try, the reformation of immoral and superstitious usages, the 
extinction of feudal privileges oppressive to the poor, the dif- 
fusion of religion and education ; the establishment of a free 
religious toleration, the consolidation of a free Constitution of 
king, nobles, and representatives of the people, and the cod- 
ification of useful laws, the Hawaiian people have made more 
progress as a nation than what ancient or modern history re- 
cords of any people beginning their career in absolute barbar- 
ism." # 

In all probability, the genius of the Constitution is the best 
comment on national progress. Those sections which relate 
to liberty of conscience are worthy of the most enlightened 
nation. The first Constitution of the Hawaiian kingdom was 
adopted on the 8th of October, 1840. The second article sol- 
emnly declares that " all men, of every religion, shall be pro- 
tected in worshiping Jehovah, and serving him according to 
their own understanding, but no man shall ever be punished 
for neglect of God, unless he injures his neighbor or brings 
evil on the kingdom." 

The new laws of Kamehameha III., § 6 of Part IY., second 
act, provides as follows : 

" All men residing in this kingdom shall be allowed freely 
to worship the God of the Christian Bible according to the dic- 
* Annual Report of the Minister of Foreign Relations, 1851. 



420 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

tates of their own consciences, and this sacred privilege shall 
never be infringed upon. Any disturbance of religious assem- 
blies, or hinderance of the free and unconstrained worship of 
God, unless such worship be connected with indecent or im- 
proper conduct, shall be considered a misdemeanor, and pun- 
ished as in and by the Criminal Code prescribed." 

So far the Constitution and laws were correct. Their se- 
curity of liberty of conscience was nothing more than a mere 
recognition of the legitimate and eternal rights which God has 
bestowed alike on all men, from the mightiest potentate to the 
meanest slave. Had the spirit of that Constitution and those 
laws been liberally carried out by the religious teachers of the 
people, and had not many of those teachers taken upon them- 
selves the responsibility to adopt and enforce a species of eccle- 
siastical legislation, the changes effected by Christianity would 
have been yet greater and far more beneficial. At a general 
meeting in June, 1837, of the Protestant missionaries, it was 

11 Resolved, That though the system of government in the 
Sandwich Islands has, since the commencement of the reign 
of Liholiho, been greatly improved, through the influence of 
Christianity and the introduction of written and. printed laws, 
and the salutary agency of Christian chiefs has proved a great 
blessing to the people, still, the system is so very imperfect for 
the management of the affairs of a civilized and virtuous na- 
tion as to render it of great importance that correct views of 
the rights and duties of rulers and subjects, and of the princi- 
ples of jurisprudence and political economy, should be held up 
before the king and the members of the national council." 

A rigid adherence by them to the latter portion of this res- 
olution has been a source of vast disadvantage to the nation, 
and a palpable violation of their instructions. 

The pioneers of the mission to these islands were instructed 
" to aim at nothing short of covering these islands with fruit- 
ful fields, and pleasant dwellings, and schools and churches, 
and raising up the whole people to an elevated state of Chris- 
tian civilization. ' ' * They were further charged by their direc- 
* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. i., p. 36. 



PROBABLE DESTINY OF THE RACE. 421 

rectors that, as " the kingdom of Christ is not of this world," 
they are " to ahstain from all interference with the local and 
political interests of the people."^ 

How far these " directions" have been complied with, the 
reader will easily perceive by a careful perusal of these pages. 
On this theme, it only remains to remark, that if Dr. Judd had 
never been appointed Minister of Finance, and Mr. Armstrong 
Minister of Public Instruction — if ecclesiastical law had not 
predominated over civil institutions to such an extent that 
religious enactments are far in advance of morals, and morals 
far subservient to penal requirements — if the people had been 
taught generally to respect Christianity from love rather than 
a slavish fear, or had they been taught the importance of 
maintaining a profound regard for the preservation and in- 
crease of domestic commerce rather than have had their hopes 
and sympathies raised through a medium too exclusively spir- 
itual, their present condition would have been vastly supe- 
rior, both in its social, political, and religious aspects, and the 
shrine before which they knelt would yet have retained its 
sanctity and life. 

These views naturally lead to the inquiry, " What is to be- 
come of the race?" I have already examined the past and 
present causes, and the extent, of depopulation. The answer 
to this inquiry is, therefore, necessarily brief in its outline, and 
sad in its finale. The Hawaiians, as a race, are physically 
and morally doomed to pass away. In the short period of 
about seventy-four years, more than 325,000 of them have 
passed away from the earth. The probability is, that, if 
brought exclusively under the fostering care of the American 
people, a wreck of the people may be saved ; otherwise, no 
legislation, civil or religious, can long perpetuate their exist- 
ence. In a few years, the last of the Sandwich Islanders, 
with silvered locks and tottering steps, will be passing over 
the sunny plains or the romantic valleys, and as he looks 
through his tears of sorrow and despair, he will exclaim, in 
the language of the Arabian, " I came back to the land of my 
* Hawaiian Spectator, vol. ii., p. 346. 



422 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

fathers, to the home of my youth, and said, ' The friends of 
my youth ! where are they ?' and an echo answered, ' Where 
are they ?' " 

The race may pass away ; but the Christian institutions, 
which have been reared, at so great a cost,^ for their physical, 
and religious, and social improvement, will live on, to be a 
benefit to foreigners and their descendants. To the faithful 
and zealous missionary — and there are several of that class — 
it is a source of sorrowful disappointment that there is no 
prospect of their religious institutions being perpetuated by the 
Hawaiian people. 

There is one cause for congratulation on the part of the 
American Board of Missions and its faithful servants on the 
Hawaiian group, and that is, their efforts have not all been in 
vain to snatch that race from the gulf of barbarism in which 
they were once sunk. A close observer, who threads his way 
over those islands, will not and can not agree with the decis- 
ion passed by the Prudential Committee of the American 
Board, at its meeting in Cincinnati, October 7th, 1853, that 
" the Sandwich Islands, having been Christianized, could no 
longer receive aid from the Board." There is a species of 
logic in the New Testament, however, which surpasses all 
others, and it announces the most sublime truth that the 
world has ever heard : its genius is, that the soul of the most 
despised man or woman is worth more in the estimation of 
its Maker than the whole material universe ! A reasonable 
doubt can not be cherished, that thousands of the Hawaiian 
race have passed away from earth to heaven. If, then, the 
American Board have been the means of redeeming but one 
idolater (!), they have conferred upon him a prize which the 
wealth of a million worlds could not purchase ! 

If, however, there is cause for congratulation that good has 
been achieved, there remains one cause of a grand failure in 
missionary enterprise to those islands, and that cause is the 
almost universal rejection of the English language in the pub- 
lic schools, and the universal use of the Hawaiian in all cler- 

- * See Appendix VII. 



, 



CAUSE OF A GRAND FAILURE. 433 

ical instruction of a public and private nature. Not to say 
any thing of the absolute vileness of the native language, 1 * its 
extreme poverty is a sufficient argument against its use. On 
this subject a highly respectable missionary authority says, 

"Another obstacle may be imperfectly termed a destitution 
of ideas, and a consequent destitution of words on the subject 
of true religion. Centuries of heathenism had done the work 
of devastation most efficiently. They had swept away the 
idea of the true God, and buried all his attributes in oblivion. 

#.A£. Ji. M. Ji Ji. M. 

*7r w tv» w *7v* tSF 

" The Sandwich Islanders and Society Islanders had no 
name for a superhuman being too high to be applied to the 
departed ghosts of sensual and blood-stained chiefs. Many 
heathen nations have no term expressive of a higher being 
than deified warriors. To these gods, of course, they attach 
the same attributes which pertain to them here on earth. If 
a missionary, then, wishes to speak of the high and holy God, 
what terms shall he use ? There is no term in the language. 
If he uses the name applied to their low and vile gods, it will 
mislead. If he use an English, Hebrew, or Greek word, it 
will not be understood. 

J/. JA. ii. Ji M. .'!. J/. 

"A* "75* "75* "A* TV* »75* TV* 

" He wishes to say gracious and merciful, and here, too, he 
is perplexed. The highest idea they had of a merciful man 
was what we term a good-natured man. 

#JA, Jg. Jt J(f. .X. -it- 

TV* TV* TV* TV* TV* "75* 

" Such ideas having been obliterated for ages ; the terms, 
also, expressing such ideas, having long been lost ; and, in con- 
sequence of this destitution of terms, missionaries are obliged, 
in their conversation, their preaching, and in their translations 
of the Scriptures too, to use words nearest allied to the sense 
they would express, though far from conveying the precise idea 
at first, or till the meaning has become fixed by frequent use 
and frequent explanation."! 

With these facts before them, it is truly surprising that, for 
thirty-three years, the native language should have been the 
* Dibble's History, p. 111. f Ibid., p. 258-260. 

V 



424 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

vehicle of public instruction not less than of political power. 
It is thoroughly understood that the English language is the 
best medium, not only of commerce, but of civilization. The 
Hawaiians readily learn English, and its universal exclusion 
from their public instructions has caused them to experience 
a great public and private loss. 

In closing this already long chapter, I can not, with pro- 
priety, omit some remarks once made by the Minister of For- 
eign Relations. In referring to the English language as it re- 
lates to French diplomacy and to commerce generally at the 
islands, he says : 

" The misunderstanding of the French government upon 
the subject of language is, if possible, greater. Had the Ha- 
waiian Islands been discovered by the celebrated La Perouse, 
and had French ships and merchants exclusively visited and 
conducted the trade of the islands for many years afterward, 
the French language would have been, in all probability, as 
current in the islands as the English has been, in all opera- 
tions of trade, for the last fifty years ; but Providence other- 
wise ordained. The islands were discovered by the famous 
Cook nearly seventy-three years ago. Up to the visit of Van- 
couver, fourteen years afterward, the English and Americans 
were the only foreigners having relations with the islands ; it 
so continued for many succeeding years, during the existence 
of the fur- trade on the Northwest Coast. The islands after- 
ward became the resort of American and English whale ships, 
and from all these natural causes the English language had 
gained such an ascendency, that both the Spaniard, Don 
Francisco de Paula Marin, and the Frenchman, M. Jean 
B. Rives, the earliest regular interpreters employed by Kame- 
hameha I. and Kamehameha II. , had to exercise their func- 
tions through the medium of that language. 

" So far as language goes, the United States and Great Brit- 
ain are to be taken together. In this sense, the English lan- 
guage may be said to represent eight hundred and forty-five 
persons on the islands, and the French thirty-three — short of 
a proportion of four per cent. 



INFLUENCE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 425 

" In the trade of the islands, in the same sense, taking last 
year as a basis of calculation, and leaving out importations 
from California entirely, the English language represents an 
amount of $461,807, and the French an amount of $7633 — 
short of a proportion of two per cent. 

" Owing to the natural and inevitable result of the circum- 
stances before mentioned, the English language is so indis- 
pensable to the transactions of all matters of business in the 
islands, that Chinese, Chilians, Columbians, Danes, Germans, 
Hawaiians, Italians, Japanese, Mexicans, all Polynesians, 
Portuguese, Prussians, Russians, Spaniards, Swedes, and even 
the French themselves, speak it — advertise their goods and 
wares, and send in their invoices, bills, &c, in that language. 
There is not one of you to whom all this is not notorious, but 
nothing of this kind seems to be known or believed in France. 
She considers that, under the second article of the treaty of 
the 26th of March, 1846, she has a right that her language 
should be as current here as the English, and hence the fourth 
article of the Declaration signed by M. Perrin and myself 
on the 25th of March, published in the Polynesian on the 
29th."* 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

ANNEXATION OP THE GROUP. 

Geographical Position of the Sandwich Islands. — Their Yahie argued 
from their Position. — Climate. — Diseases. — Capacity of the SoiL — 
Importance of the Sandwich Islands to the United States Govern- 
ment. — Objections considered. — Recent Movements at the Islands. 
— Remonstrance of the British and French Consuls. — Reply of the 
United States Commissioner. — British and French Diplomacy. — 
British and French Dominion. — Faith of European Nations. — 
Reasons for " Annexation." — Its Necessity. 

In the preceding pages I have attempted to sketch the 
physical character, the scenery, and the commerce of the 

* Annual Report of the Minister of Foreign Relations, 1851. 



426 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

group ; I have portrayed a variety of scenes and incidents 
which will tend to illustrate the political, moral, social, and 
religious condition of the people ; I have glanced at the causes 
and extent of depopulation of the native races ; and I have 
endeavored to show what that group may be rendered, and 
how that dying people may be brought back to life and ac- 
tivity by the mild sway of just and righteous laws, emanating 
from a good government. I have done this, not only as a 
record of what I have seen, but to prepare the way for a few 
remarks on the " Annexation' ' of that important group of 
islands to the United States of America. 

In pursuing this theme, it may be proper to lay down a few 
general premises. 

A mere glance at the map of the "Western Hemisphere will 
show that the Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands — as they are 
officially termed — are situated in the North Pacific Ocean, be- 
tween latitude 18° 50 / and 22° 20' N., and longitude 154° 
53 / and 160° 15 / W. They are nearly equidistant from Cen- 
tral America, Mexico, California, and the Northwest Coast on 
the one side, and the Russian dominions, Japan, China, and 
the Philippine Islands on the other. From their relative 
position to the above countries and Australia on the south, 
they have been termed the " Half-way House," or the " Great 
Crossings of the Pacific." Vessels bound from San Francisco 
to China or Australia, stop at these islands, or pass within sight 
of them on their outward and return voyages. 

The group consists of twelve islands, eight only of which 
are inhabited, the other being but barren rocks. Those in- 
habited are as follows : 

Names. Miles Wide. Miles Long. Square Miles. 

Hawaii 88 73 4000 

Maui 48 30 620 

Oahu 46 25 530 

Kauai 42 25 500 

Molokai 40 1 190 

Lanai 11 9 100 

Niihau 20 T 90 

Kahoolawe 11 8 60 



THEIR VALUE AND POSITION. 427 

The whole embrace a superficial area of about 6100 square 
miles. 

The value of the group may be argued chiefly from their 
geographical position. Their equidistance from the chief 
ports — and especially San Francisco — on the western shores 
of the two continents of America, places them in a natural 
position to command the North Pacific Ocean. Gibraltar is 
not more the key to the Gates of Hercules, nor the island of 
Cuba to the Gulf Stream, than the Sandwich Islands are the 
natural defense of the North Pacific. Civilization points to 
them as the island-empire of that great ocean. A few years 
ago, that world of waters was rarely whitened by the track of 
a vessel. The trade- winds were almost the only messengers 
that sped among their innumerable islands, reposing beneath 
the soft smile of an eternal summer. Those lovely gems on 
the bosom of the deep remain unchanged ; but not so the 
spirit of the times in which we live. The western shores of 
our continent have experienced the greatest transformation 
ever known in the history of the world, and that change can 
no more be chained to a single spot than the chariot of the 
sun can be stayed by a passing cloud. In times but just gone 
by, " our ships visited the Pacific to harpoon the whale ; now 
ships can not be found to transact the business which calls 
them to its basin. America has already commenced the col- 
onization of these shores, and the dark blue Pacific will soon 
be traversed by the keels of white- winged clippers, and plowed 
by the wheels of the steam-ship. The times hurry us along 
very fast, and the patriot and the statesman are called on im- 
peratively to provide for the interests of the country, of com- 
merce, and humanity on the Pacific. We can not pass these 
duties by, or leave them to chance, for we are in trust for 
human nature." 

The famihar line of the poet, 

" Westward the star of empire takes its way," 

is not unfrequently cited without remembering the splendid 
destinies to which it points. But it is the very genius of his- 



428 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

tory, the epitome of national grandeur, a just and impartial 
recognition of the true progress of man. To no nation, how- 
ever, does this sentiment so fully apply as the new State of 
California. Its commerce, and the commerce of Central Amer- 
ica, and of the western coast of South America, are but yet in 
their infancy. "What Spanish wealth and Spanish Christian- 
ity failed to perform, after a fair trial, during nearly three hund- 
red years, American activity and enterprise have accomplished 
in five times that number of days ! "When the contemplated 
thoroughfares shall have been constructed across the Continent, 
so as to bring the east and west nearer together by a more 
rapid communication, such a revolution in commerce will be 
effected as the world has never before seen. With the rapid 
increase of merchant-vessels, whose wealth shall be wafted 
over every part of Polynesia, a sort of commercial depot will 
be needed between the East and West. Of this increase of 
commercial wealth, the United States will possess at least fif- 
teen twentieths. This ratio they already possess. The com- 
merce of the Western United States is yet in its infancy. It 
will not be long before such a mighty tide of wealth will roll 
between California and the Orient as shall render the Pacific 
the " highway of nations" on a grander scale than the Atlan- 
tic now is. California will then sit empress over the Pacific. 
She will be the great outlet through which America shall send 
forth her arts, sciences, Christianity, and civil liberty to the 
remotest regions of the earth, teaching mankind their univer- 
sality and unity, their mutual duty one to another, and their 
legitimate allegiance to national councils and properly organ- 
ized governments. These splendid destinies once realized, it 
can not but be seen that Americans will need a sort of half- 
way house, a commercial depot, in the North Pacific, precisely 
on the same principles as those by which Palmyra was long 
recognized as a stopping-place of the old Syrian merchants. 
Just such a place the Sandwich Islands may and must be 
rendered, subjected, at the same time, to American laws and 
protection ; and for such a purpose they are eminently fitted 
by their great natural advantages. 



CLIMATE. 429 



The climate is the most uniform and salubrious of any in 
the world. Situated in the very midst of the vast Pacific, 
without any extensive inland causes to affect the temperature, 
and remote from the cold, chilling winds of the temperate and 
frigid zones, the Sandwich Islands possess a remarkable even- 
ness in the degree of atmospheric temperature. Cool breezes, 
by day from the sea, and by night from the mountains, serve 
to mitigate the burning heat produced by a vertical sun, and 
to render the climate pleasant. The thermometer varies but 
little from day to day, and even from month to month ; and 
what is particularly to be remarked, all portions of the islands, 
along the shores, are alike in this respect. Districts most 
parched by heat and drought do not differ essentially in tem- 
perature from those sections where almost daily showers and 
perpetual trade-winds prevail. As we recede, however, from 
the low lands along the sea, and ascend the mountains, a 
change is immediately perceived, and along their extended 
sides we may procure almost any degree of temperature. The 
thermometer at Honolulu never rises above 90°, and rarely 
falls lower than 65°. June witnesses the highest range, Jan- 
uary the lowest. At Lahaina — the second sea-port in import- 
ance on the group — the highest thermometrical elevation, 
during a number of years, was 86°, and the lowest 59°. 

On an average of temperature throughout the islands, the 
thermometer varies but 12° on a level with high tide.^ Such 
is the gradual change from summer to winter — seasons more 
in name than reality — that it is hardly perceptible. Only at 
a height of one or two thousand feet above the sea are fires 
used to procure artificial heat. No marble columns or glit- 
tering domes have ever been reared there, to trace the exist- 
ence of the Moslem, the Goth, the Druid, or the Christian, or 
to beautify the already beautiful footprints of Nature. Nor 
are they needed. The lofty peaks of the mountains bespeak 
the existence of Time's monuments, which neither flame nor 
flood can waste. The streams, the foliage, the flowers, the 
plants, are perennial. Wherever foliage flourishes, every thing 

* See Appendix III. 



430 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

stands bedecked in living green — every thing reposes beneath 
the bright sunlight of an unfading summer. 

Such is the equableness of the climate, and the simplicity 
of the natives in their regimen and most of their habits of life, 
that, compared with civilized countries, the variety of their 
diseases is neither numerous nor complex. Their remoteness 
from other lands is so great that but few contagious diseases 
are imported among them. Even the cholera, which has of 
late passed over almost the whole surface of our planet, be- 
came inert and powerless before it reached those islands. The 
diseases most common among the native population, so far as 
I observed them, were fevers, ophthalmia, catarrhs and asth- 
ma, rheumatism, venereal, diarrhea, dysentery, cutaneous 
diseases, scrofula, dropsy, etc., and they occurred, in frequen- 
cy, in about the order in which I have mentioned them. Dis- 
eases sometimes occur epidemically, as is the case with ca- 
tarrh repeatedly. Many other diseases, not specified, fre- 
quently make their appearance. 

Ophthalmia, of the purulent form, abounds in every por- 
tion of the group, and opaque corneas and thickened coats of 
the eyes are very numerous. The old and the young are alike 
affected with this disease ; very small children are occasional- 
ly met with nearly blind from its effects. I at one time at- 
tributed its prevalence to the effects of the clouds of sand often 
raised and blown about with great violence by the trade- 
wind ; but finding it equally common in those districts where 
frequent rains prevent the dust from ever rising, there appear- 
ed to be no other cause so active as the trade- winds, which are 
constantly prevalent, and come mingled with salt spray. 

Pulmonary Diseases. — Sudden and severe atmosp hericvi- 
cissitudes, the exciting cause of pulmonary affections, do not 
occur at the Sandwich Islands, and with the accommodations 
for protection and comfort which are possessed in every civil- 
ized land, diseases of the respiratory organs would be far more 
rare. Such, however, are the habits and practices of the peo- 
ple, and so exposed are they to the influence of every atmo- 
spheric change, that asthma, and catarrhs in particular, are 



DISEASES. 431 



of frequent occurrence. The latter are, however, usually mild 
in their character, ephemeral in their existence, easily yield to 
remediate applications, and rarely pass into the more invet- 
erate and fatal stages of pulmonic disease. 

But the most malignant and destructive of all the diseases 
on the group is syphilis. It has been perpetuated and ex- 
tended until language has become too feeble to express the 
wretchedness and woe which have been the result. Foul ul- 
cers, of many years' standing, both indolent and phagedenic, 
every where abound, and visages horridly deformed — eyes ren- 
dered blind — noses entirely destroyed — mouths monstrously 
drawn aside from their natural position — ulcerating palates, 
and almost useless arms and legs, mark most clearly the state 
and progress of the disease among that injured and helpless 
people. 

It is a melancholy reflection, that there is no prospect of 
this disease, so disgusting in its effects and destructive in its 
course, being soon eradicated. The natives possess, among 
themselves, no curative means which will control it. But a 
small portion have ready access to foreign physicians, and 
many within reach appear too indifferent to their condition to 
make application, while most permit the disease to go on till 
secondary symptoms appear before they seek assistance. These 
circumstances, together with their prevailing and inveterate 
habits of promiscuous sexual intercourse, will serve still to per- 
petuate and extend the disease. 

Children are much exposed to disease. The profound ig- 
norance of parents relative to their maternal duties, and their 
frequent indifference to the comfort of their offspring, subject 
them to an almost incredible amount of unnecessary suffering 
and disease during the most tender age of infancy and child- 
hood. Should they be taken sick in the night, the sluggish 
parents, either wrapped in a profound slumber, or averse to 
moving during the hours of darkness, suffer their helpless lit- 
tle ones to he, benumbed with cold and exhausted by crying, 
till morning at length comes to their relief. Catarrhs, asth- 
mas, and particularly fevers, are hence abundant, and the 



432 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

seeds of numerous future diseases are doubtless sown at such 
times. 

Their cleanliness is also greatly neglected. An occasional 
immersion at mid-day is perhaps the only ablution performed, 
and the constantly accumulating filth over the surface of their 
bodies subjects them to the prevailing cutaneous diseases and 
scrofula ; while the folds of their joints, the nates and vagina 
being so much neglected, are extensively affected with exco- 
riations and ulcers. Add to these the practice of feeding them 
with the crudest and most indigestible food nearly as soon as 
born, and it is a matter of wonder that so many survive the 
infantile discipline. 

The diseases above specified, however, are slightly, if at all, 
applicable to foreign residents or their children. 

Malaria is entirely unknown. 

As a resort for individuals predisposed to, or affected with 
pulmonary diseases, the Sandwich Islands can not be sur- 
passed. 

Before entering upon the capacity of the soil, it may be 
proper to glance at its character. On this topic a very few 
remarks will suffice. 

It is generally composed of decayed volcanicmat ters, such 
as lava, sand, mud, and ashes, all of which are fertile when 
well watered. On the hills, to a great height, and in the ra- 
vines, vegetable mould is abundant. Some of the soil is of a 
red, tufaceous character ; in other places it is brown, granular, 
or black. The compact soils appear best adapted to resist the 
drought. About Honolulu, the superstratum of earth is thin 
- — from one to five feet, and the average about three. Under 
this is a stratum of black volcanic sand or scorise, of about the 
same thickness, upon a bed of coral, in which, by hewing out 
a cavity of from three or four to twenty feet in depth, water 
is found, with which the grounds are easily irrigated. 

Such is the character of the soil over the greater portion of 
the group. 

The capacity of the soil is almost miraculous ; consequently, 
the natives do not cultivate a large extent. 



CAPACITY OF THE SOIL. 433 

" In regard to the cheapness of food for the natives, it is 
proper to state that 40 feet square of land, planted with kalo, 
affords subsistence for one person ; 32 feet square of land, 
planted with bananas, will yield 4000 pounds of fruit, while 
the same extent of land will yield but 30 pounds of wheat, 
or 80 pounds of potatoes. A tract of land one mile square, 
in fields, will occupy and feed 153 persons ; the same extent in 
vineyards will occupy and feed 289 persons, while the same 
quantity of land in kalo will feed 15,151 persons, and proba- 
bly not more than one twenty-fifth of that number would be 
required in its cultivation. The numerical value' of this re- 
source is not of so much importance as its relative proportion 
to other resources." 

The districts of Hilo and Puna, on Hawaii, would support 
400,000 natives. 

The districts of Kaneohe, Ewa, Koolau, and Waialua, on 
Oahu, containing about 21,000 acres, would support 90,000. 

The district of Koolau, on Kauai, would produce food 
enough to supply 40,000. 

Here, then, are seven small districts capable of furnishing 
food for 530,000 native inhabitants, or 130,000 greater than 
the population estimated by Cook in 1778. 

Arable land is found from three feet to two thousand feet 
above the level of high tide. 

The natural resources of the soil afford materials for cord- 
age, tanning, kapa, and mats, castor, lamp, and paint oil, fire 
and 'sandal wood, fancy wood for furniture, also the bamboo, 
banana, plantain, guava, turmeric, bread-fruit, tamarind, lime, 
orange, citron, and mustard. Of these, several will probably 
become articles of export, particularly. several kinds of beauti- 
ful wood for ornamental furniture, paint and castor oil. Tim- 
ber, the banana, and several kinds of bark, will be important 
auxiliaries in the progress of improvement. 

There are other resources more directly dependent upon its 
cultivation. Among such we find sugar, molasses, cotton, cof- 
fee, indigo, silk, rice, Indian corn, wheat, hemp, kalo, cocoa, to- 
bacco, ginger. Also the yam, potato, melon, squash, bean, 

T 



434 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

grape, pine-apple, olive, cabbage, radish, onion, cucumber, to- 
mato, gooseberry, strawberry, chirimoya, papaya, and fig, be- 
sides a list of less important articles. 

Cotton will likewise become an important article. It is 
easily raised, and the dry, rocky land which abounds on the 
leeward side of these islands is well adapted for it. 

The cultivation of the cotton-plant will be prevented on 
the uplands by the high trade- winds, which blow freely over 
all the islands. How far the cotton-tree known in Mexico 
will grow on such lands, and retain its wool till picked, re- 
mains yet to be ascertained. It is an object eminently wor- 
thy of experiment. 

The vine flourishes in some parts of the island, and there 
is no doubt that good wine could be made, under the direction 
of persons knowing how to manage the vintage. 

The cultivation of the grape for the manufacture of wine 
would soon witness a return equal to the entire revenue of 
1853. 

From experiments already tried, it is known that silk can 
be very profitably produced here, and that it will afford em- 
ployment to a large proportion of the population. It is be- 
lieved that six crops of leaves may be gathered annually from 
the same trees, which grow here with a rapidity unknown in 
silk countries. 

It is thoroughly understood by all judges of the article, that 
the coffee produced in these islands rivals in flavor the much- 
esteemed Mocha, and perhaps only yields to that rare and ex- 
quisite species produced only in Peru, in the province of Yun- 
gas. It can be raised in large quantities. Under a more lib- 
eral government, it may find its way extensively into foreign 
markets. 

The principal manufacture is that of salt. A quantity of 
this article, sufficient to supply the Pacific Ocean, can be man- 
ufactured at Oahu, equal in quality to that of Turks' Island 
or Liverpool. 

The shores of the islands and their romantic streams abound 
with the finest of fishes, that constitute an indispensable and 



IMPORTANCE OF THE GROUP. 435 

extensive item in native food. There are also shells, both 
numerous and beautiful, among which are the echini, coral- 
lines, and crustaceae. The Cypres Madagascariensis is 
found here abundantly ; also fine specimens of the Perdix, 
Helias, Bullce, Ovulce, Neritince, the Conus admiralis, 
and others less rare. A small species of the Chiton is also 
common. 

From what has already been stated, it can not but be seen 
that the Sandwich group must be of vast importance to the 
United States government. The history of their discovery is 
a page of romance as interesting as any tale of adventure and 
fiction. Less than a century has witnessed the birth and 
growth of an empire, and brought these fair islands in the 
once desert waste of the Pacific to be the station and harbor 
of thronging ships. Those islands, where the naked savage 
roamed amid cocoa-nut groves, and over the slopes of fertile 
mountains, are inhabited by Americans, and are necessary for 
American commerce. 

From their central position, and the numerous facilities af- 
forded for recruiting vessels, the islands have long been a fa- 
vorite resort for whalers, and, since the increase of commerce 
in the Pacific, have formed a regular stopping-place for the 
merchant mariners in their voyages across that great ocean. 
The result is, that Honolulu, from its position and fine harbor, 
has become a place of great consequence. At least one mill- 
ion of dollars was expended there by the seven hundred sail 
of vessels that visited that port in 1852, in paying off their 
crews, recruiting, repairing, and refreshments. In 1851, one 
million of dollars worth of goods was imported into the isl- 
ands, mostly from the United States. The commercial im- 
portance of the place is daily increasing, and in a short time 
it will rank only second to San Francisco among the towns of 
the Pacific. 

Annexation to the United States would be of infinite bene- 
fit to them in a variety of relations, but in none so much as 
in the extension and protection of American interests already 
firmly established there. Those islands once possessed by our 



436 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

government, a nucleus would be established from which would 
radiate the blessings and advantages of American civilization 
over the whole of Polynesia. 

To a step so desirable and inevitable, a few objections have 
been urged : 

1 . By missionaries and a few persons in the immediate em- 
ploy of the Hawaiian government. 

The charge, so widely reiterated, that " the missionaries, 
and those banded with them, own the finest property and 
houses on the group," is, alas ! — with a few exceptions — too 
true.^ Paying no taxes, especially on real estate, it is for 
their interest to raise every objection to a change of govern- 
ment. This they have done, and continue to do, through the 
press at home and abroad, and in the councils of the Hawaiian 
Parliament. To gratify their self-interest and maintain their 
position, they have expended many an hour's eloquence, and 
wasted ink on many a quire of foolscap. Such a course has 
grown out of a pseudo-philanthropy toward the Hawaiian 
race. A change of government would effect a transforma- 
tion in their affairs, and send some of the king's officials to 
engage in duties for which they are infinitely better fitted. 

2. It has been urged that the annexation of the Sandwich 
Islands would be a superfluous extension of American territo- 
ry. This objection carries with it its own refutation. With 
the many millions of acres in the gigantic West ; with a coun- 
try inexhaustible in its mineral and agricultural wealth, and 
whose lap will lodge and feed a family of 300,000,000 of hu- 
man beings, it is natural to conclude that the United States 
possess sufficient territory. Not less true it is that a small 
group, whose superficial area does not exceed six thousand 
one hundred square miles, can not add to our country a very 
significant amount of territory. It is equally true that those 
islands can be of advantage to us only as they will aflbrd the 
means for extending and defending our vastly expanding com- 
merce. But who will say that such advantages are not well 
worth a possession by a great commercial people like our own ? 

* See Appendix V. 



OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 437 

3. Another objection which has been raised is the acqui- 
sition of slave territory. But this topic I leave to the disposal 
of diplomatists. The American people possess sufficient in- 
telligence and decision of character to provide against any 
measures that may tend to conflict with the genius of the 
Constitution. 

4. It has been objected, that any steps taken toward an- 
nexation would lead to a rupture between our government, 
and France, and England. This last objection, although a 
perfect fallacy, merits some degree of consideration. So say 
a few of the French and British subjects residing on the group ; 
and such has been the day-dream of a few of our own citizens 
immediately at home. And yet such an objection is, in itself, 
utterly objectionable, and the objectors themselves need a little 
light on national rights and privileges. 

But, whatever may be the sentiments of a few self-interested 
individuals, or of men who can not see beyond the shadows 
of the moment, certain it is that the political affairs of the 
islands are becoming revolutionized, and the dawn of their 
republican freedom is in the ascendency. As recently as July, 
1853, the first step taken toward reform was the removal of 
a portion of the obnoxious ministry — formed, in part, of mis- 
sionaries. A large meeting — not of mere enemies to mission- 
ary enterprise, but the despotic ministers — of independent cit- 
izens of unblemished reputation convened at Honolulu for 
the purpose of discussing the grievances they were compelled 
to throw off. The movements and decisions of that body of 
citizens are fraught with vital interest to the Hawaiian gov- 
ernment and our own ; and, as they will eventually terminate 
in annexation of the islands to the United States, it may be 
proper to notice those proceedings at length. 

That mass-meeting of the people was called by the follow- 
ing card : 

" The Time has Come — Keep the Ball in Motion. — A 
meeting of the citizens of Honolulu, favorable to the dismissal 
from office of G. P. Judd and Richard Armstrong, Minis- 



438 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ters of Finance and Public Instruction, will be held at the 
Court-house, in Honolulu, to-night, at 1\ o'clock, to discuss 
the resolutions offered last night by George A. Lathrop. 
f Liberty of speech is the birthright of freemen. 5 By order 
of the committee of Independent Citizens. 

"Honolulu, July 20, 1853." 

In pursuance of the above call, the foreign residents of Hon- 
olulu assembled at the Court-house on the evening of July 
20th, and organized the meeting by electing the following 
officers, viz. : Dr. Wesley Newcomb, President ; Captain 
John Meek and Captain David Pearce Penhallow, Vice- 
presidents ; William Ladd and C. H. Lewers, Secretaries. 

Dr. George A. Lathrop stated the objects of the meeting, 
insisting upon the right of free discussion, which had been cut 
off the previous evening, and, in support of his position, read 
the third and fourth articles of the Constitution of the Ha- 
waiian Islands, to wit : 

"Art. 3. All men may freely speak, write, and publish 
their sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse 
of that right ; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge 
the liberty of speech or of the press. 

" Art. 4. All men shall have the right, in an orderly and 
peaceable manner, to assemble, without arms, to consult upon 
the common good ; give instructions to their representatives ; 
and to petition the king or the Legislature for a redress of 
grievances." 

He then introduced a series of resolutions, which were ably 
supported by Messrs. J. D. Blair, Captain A. J. M'Duffie, 
Dr. W. Newcomb, and Dr. J. Mott Smith, and unanimously 
adopted. 

The following are the resolutions offered by Dr. Lathrop : 

"Whereas, The position of the Sandwich Islands in the 
Pacific Ocean must render them of very great importance, in 
a commercial point of view at least, and they would, under 
wholesome, judicious, and liberal governmental policy, at no 
distant day, become rich in the various productions of their 






MOVEMENTS AT THE ISLANDS. 439 

soil, influential in the expansion of their trade and commerce, 
and their citizens prosperous, contented, and happy ; and 
whereas the people should be the source of power in all, and 
are emphatically the support and dependence of all govern- 
ments, whether monarchical, mixed, or democratic, and that 
no government can be conducted successfully, prosperously, 
and happily without the confidence and respect of the people ; 
therefore, 

" Resolved, That the wishes of the people should be con- 
sulted by emperor, king, or president, in the appointing or con- 
tinuance of ministers, who, by the power their position gives 
them, exercise a controlling influence over the destinies of the 
country and the individual happiness of the people. 

" Resolved, That we, a portion of the foreign and native 
residents of the Sandwich Islands, entertain for his majesty, 
Kamehameha III., nothing but the most profound sentiments 
of loyalty, regard, and esteem, and that he will ever find in 
us earnest supporters of his title and prerogatives, so long as 
such a course would be consistent with a proper respect for 
private rights, personal liberty, individual honor, and the pub- 
lic good. 

" Resolved, That the Ministers of Finance and Public In- 
struction, members of his majesty's present cabinet, are not so 
fortunate as to have either the confidence or esteem of this 
meeting, nor, as we believe, of any considerable portion of his 
majesty's native subjects, or of foreign resident citizens through- 
out his kingdom, and that their retention in office is in direct 
opposition to the wishes and interests of a very large majority 
of the natives and citizens of the Sandwich Islands. 

"Resolved, That these same ministers, having the com- 
mand of the principal channels of influence, viz., treasure, 
education, and the almost absolute control of government pa- 
tronage, have most wickedly neglected their duty in not using 
the means within their control to protect the people from the 
pestilence which is now depopulating the islands. That, in- 
stead of devoting themselves to the public good, they have 
ever sought their own aggrandizement, regardless alike of the 



440 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

high duties devolving upon them, or of the evils necessarily 
following their malfeasance in office. 

"Resolved, That while the foreign residents of Honolulu 
are making such earnest and energetic efforts, expending their 
time, labor, and money so liberally to stay the dread pestilence 
that threatens in a short time to sweep off a large portion of 
the inhabitants of these islands, annihilate their trade and 
commerce, and thereby bring distress, ruin, and absolute want 
upon the citizens, it is not unreasonable to ask the dismissal 
of said ministers, who, by their criminal, selfish, and willful 
neglect, have brought this frightful curse upon us. For even 
the plea of ignorance can not be made in their defense, as 
the public are well aware that they were warned in season — 
nay, even urged and entreated to use the only means by which 
protection could be given to the people. But, as the sum of 
less than two thousand dollars would be required to vaccinate 
and protect the people of this island, the recommendation or 
proposal to the physicians passed for naught. 

" Resolved, That a committee be appointed by the president 
to prepare a petition to his majesty, praying that he will grat- 
ify the most earnest hope and desire of the people, and contrib- 
ute to their happiness and prosperity, by dismissing from office 
G. P. Judd and Richard Armstrong, the present Ministers 
of Finance and Public Instruction." 

J. D. Blair, having been appointed to prepare a petition 
to his majesty Kamehameha III., submitted the following, 
which was unanimously adopted, and over one hundred signa- 
tures were immediately obtained in the meeting : 

Petition to his majesty Kamehameha III. 

"We, the undersigned, citizens of the Sandwich Islands, 
part of whom are most loyal and dutiful subjects of your maj 
esty, and others, residents and denizens of your most gracious 
majesty's kingdom, would earnestly and respectfully represent 
to your majesty that we entertain for you, as a man, the warm- 
est sentiments of esteem and respect ; for you, as the lawful 
sovereign of this kingdom, feelings of the most loyal duty and 



MOVEMENTS AT THE ISLANDS. 44^ 

respectful reverence ; and for those noble and generous qual- 
ities of the heart, that have so eminently characterized your 
majesty, the cordial admiration of our hearts can only be felt 
— never expressed. 

" Your petitioners would further most respectfully represent 
to your majesty that we are law-abiding subjects, citizens, and 
denizens of your majesty's kingdom ; that we will ever be sub- 
missive to, and supporters of, all laws made in conformity 
with the Constitution, and cheerfully submit to perform all 
obligations properly due from a free and Christian people to 
their lawful sovereign. 

" Your petitioners would further most respectfully represent 
to your majesty that the interests of all of us are largely, and 
many of us solely, identified with the Hawaiian Islands ; that 
the prosperity, political advancement, and happiness of your 
kingdom is the sincere and earnest desire of our hearts. We 
advance with its advancement, and are prosperous in its pros- 
perity. The destinies of us all are more or less united with 
the destinies of these islands. As a nation is, so are the peo- 
ple ; and as national wealth, greatness, and dignity are shared 
by the people individually, so also must they share in the pov- 
erty, insignificance, and depreciation of national character. It 
is for these reasons, as well as the sentiments of personal re- 
gard and esteem we entertain for your majesty, that we so 
earnestly desire that the dignity and authority of your majesty 
should be maintained — the wealth, commerce, and prosperity 
of the nation augmented and steadily advanced — and that 
peace and happiness may reign throughout your majesty's do- 
minions. 

"Your petitioners would furthermost respectfully represent 
to your majesty that the history of all ages illustrates the 
truth, that no monarch, however good and great in his own 
person, can make his government respected or his people happy, 
when surrounded by pernicious counselors. The happiness of 
a people is in the wisdom of the government, and the strength 
of the government is in the trust and confidence of the people. 

" Your petitioners would further represent to your majesty 

T 2 



442 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

that, entertaining as we do the highest consideration for your 
majesty, the unprejudiced convictions of our judgment are, 
that your majesty has, as your confidential advisers, persons 
undeserving the trust and confidence of the people, and high- 
ly prejudicial to the best interests of your majesty's govern- 
ment. 

" That, in the humble opinion of your petitioners, the pub- 
lic good and the welfare of your majesty's people would be 
greatly promoted, and the peace and harmony of the country 
secured, by the dismissal from office of G. P. Judd and Rich- 
ard Armstrong, Ministers of Finance and Public Instruction. 

" Their inefficiency and misdeeds may be artfully concealed 
from your majesty, but their selfish cupidity, political imbecil- 
ity, and malfeasance in office, are well known and grievously 
felt by your people. 

" If the public good made subservient to personal aggran- 
dizement — the use of official and arbitrary power to gratify 
personal malice, inefficiency, and neglect in the discharge of 
official duties — and the shameful betrayal of the trust of a 
confiding and unfortunate people, merit public reprobation, 
and the withdrawal of the trust confided to them, then do 
they. 

" The public good and public feeling urgently demand their 
dismissal. We earnestly and respectfully petition that it may 
be done ; and not only we, but the almost universal cry is, that 
they may be no longer allowed to hold places in your majesty's 
confidence, or of national trust. Could the voices be heard of 
those thousands of your majesty's people who have recently 
been so suddenly swept from time into an awful eternity, 
through the criminal parsimony and neglect of these minis- 
ters, they would cry night and day in the ears of your majes- 
ty to reprove, and in some measure avenge, the wrong done 
your people, by dismissing such faithless ministers from your 
majesty's councils. The bodies of hundreds of your majesty's 
humble and faithful subjects lie cold and dead, and their 
tongues are silent in the grave ; but the silence of those graves 
conveys a language more impressive than the speech of tongues, 



MOVEMENTS AT THE ISLANDS. 443 

and admonishes your majesty that the wrongs of your people 
should still live in the memory of your majesty, though they 
have passed away forever. 

" Your petitioners have a full and abiding confidence in the 
justice and firmness of your majesty, and indulge the not un- 
reasonable hope that your majesty will hear the living and 
remember the dead, and so respond to tins petition as to bring 
peace, happiness, prosperity, and unity to your now distracted 
and suffering people." 

This petition Jwas signed by two hundred and sixty foreign- 
ers, and twelve thousand two hundred and twenty natives. 
Subsequent meetings were held, and resolutions, confirmatory 
of preceding action, were unanimously passed, The friends 
of the two ministers were active in their defense, and charged 
the republicans with revolutionary or treasonable designs 
against the Hawaiian government ; but a host of stern facts 
stood arrayed against them, and their defense of the ministers, 
and their libelous charges against the patriots, were crushed. 
While these scenes were enacted in the Court-house, let us 
take a peep into the " royal presence." 

The besotted king and his native counselors were so alarm- 
ed by the determined attitude of the Independents, that, even 
after refusing to dismiss Messrs. Judd and Armstrong, they 
met in secret conclave, and resolved to compel those obnox* 
ious ministers to resign. Judd got wind of the matter, ap- 
pealed to the sympathies and prejudices of the king, over whom 
he has obtained unbounded influence, and managed to induce 
him to reconsider his determination. By this means he con- 
trived to retain his hold upon place and power a brief space 
longer. The Hawaiian Guards, composed principally of Amer- 
icans, exhibited such a spirit a few days afterward, that the 
king, in great trepidation, is said again to have promised the 
withdrawal of the ministers. 

Annexation to the United States now seemed to be the 
movement at which both parties were aiming. To gain pop- 
ularity — and probably to obtain an interim for the better ad- 



444 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

justment of their difficulties — they avowed themselves as the 
advocates of annexation, and accused the Independents of op- 
position to that measure. But it was a libel on all their for- 
mer actions and sentiments. The hollowness of the pretext 
was palpable. The doors of the whirlwind had been opened, 
and could be ■ closed only by the dismissal of the obnoxious 
Minister of Finance. Dr. Judd was removed from office, and 
Elisha H. Allen, &z;-consul of the United States, appointed. 
Thus a decided step had been taken toward annexation to 
the United States. It caused no small excitement among the 
British and French residents. The consuls of France and 
England solicited an audience with the king and Privy Coun- 
cil. The Council was convoked on the 1st of September, 
when the consuls presented the following joint remonstrance : 

"Honolulu, Sept. 1, 1853. 

" May it please your Majesty, — We, the representatives 
of G-reat Britain and France, beg leave respectfully to inti- 
mate to your majesty that we are fully informed of the extra- 
ordinary course adopted by some American merchants, landed 
proprietors, and other citizens of the United States, connected 
with the Protestant missionaries residing on Woahoo, with a 
view to induce your majesty to alienate your sovereignty and 
the independence of these islands by immediate negotiation for 
annexation to the United States, and that we are aware, also, 
of the countenance and support that a memorial which those 
gentlemen have addressed to you, to the aforesaid effect, has 
received from high official functionaries at Honolulu, all of 
which proceedings have given rise to considerable excitement 
among French and British residents. 

" Under these circumstances, we consider it our duty to re- 
mind you that Great Britain and France have entered into 
solemn treaties with the Sandwich Islands, by which treaties 
your majesty, your heirs and successors, are bound to extend, 
at all times, to French and British subjects, the same advant- 
ages and privileges as may be granted to subjects or citizens 
of the most favored nation, and that the joint resolution of En- 



REMONSTRANCE OF THE CONSULS. 445 

gland and France of the 28th of November, 1843, was found- 
ed upon the clear understanding that your majesty was to pre- 
serve your kingdom as an independent state. 

" Therefore we declare, in the name of our governments, 
that any attempt to annex the Sandwich Islands to any for- 
eign power whatever would be in contravention of existing 
treaties, and could not be looked upon with indifference by ei- 
ther the British or the French government. 

" We beg further to observe, that, in accordance with the 
Hawaiian Constitution, your majesty could only alienate your 
sovereignty and islands under certain circumstances — which 
circumstances have not occurred — and that no monarch what- 
ever, according to Yattel and other writers on international 
law, has a right to alienate his kingdom, or to enter into a 
negotiation with that view, without the concurrence of his 
people. 

" We therefore consider that the time has arrived for us to 
remonstrate ; and we do hereby remonstrate against your maj- 
esty becoming a party to the scheme recently got up, or to 
any other project which existing treaties and the Hawaiian 
Constitution do not sanction.* Em. Perrin, 

Wm. Miller." 

To this " extraordinary" movement on the part of the two 
consuls, the Minister of Foreign Relations issued the following 
laconic reply : 

"Privy Council Chamber, Palace, Sept. 1, 1853. 
" The undersigned is commanded by the king to state to 
the representatives of Great Britain and France that his maj- 
esty will duly consider the joint memorandum which they this 
day presented to his majesty, in presence of his ministers and 
Privy Council of State. It. C. Wyllie. 

"To Monsieur Louis Emilie Perrin, Consul, Commissioner, and Ple- 
nipotentiary of his Imperial Majesty, Napoleon III., of France. 
"To William Miller, Esq., H. B. M.'s Consul," &c, <fcc. 

* See treaties in Appendix VI. 



446 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

To prevent a wrong impression in the minds of persons at 
a distance, a communication was published in the Polynesian 
of the 10 th instant : 

" Mr. Editor, — The communication from the representa- 
tives of Great Britain and France, in your last paper, will 
probably convey a wrong impression to many of your readers. 

" The Protestant missionaries at these islands have never 
engaged in any scheme of annexation. It has been their cher- 
ished wish that the government may remain independent, un- 
der the present Constitution and rulers. Whatever may have 
been done by merchants, planters, or others, the Protestant cler- 
gymen at the islands have neither advised nor signed any me- 
morial to the king touching annexation. E. W. Clark, 

P. J. Gulick." 

This last dispatch was needless — unless for persons abroad 
— for it has ever been understood that policy would keep the 
missionaries from an advocacy of all movements tending to 
annexation. 

The joint " remonstrance" by the consuls met with a digni- 
fied and firm reply from the U. S. Commissioner — a reply 
highly characteristic of American diplomacy. The following 
is the answer entire, as it was addressed to the representatives 
of the British and French governments, through the Minister 
of Foreign Relations ; and as it anticipates some topics on 
which it was my intention to dwell, I give it this place in 
these pages : 

"United States Commission, Honolulu, Sept. 3, 1853. 
" Sir, — I have the honor of receiving your communication 
of this morning, in which you say it was resolved by the king 
in council, on the first day of the month, that you should pass 
to me officially a copy of the joint address to his majesty by 
the representatives of Great Britain and France, made on that 
day, which you have done by inclosing a copy, No. 17, of the 
Polynesian^ published this morning. 



REPLY OF THE U. S. COMMISSIONER. 447 



j±- 



" My thanks are due to the king and council for taking im- 
mediate measures to apprise me officially of the exact contents 
of the address, which I perceive remonstrates against the ex- 
traordinary course adopted by some American merchants, 
landed proprietors, and other citizens of- the United States, to 
induce the king to alienate his sovereignty and the independ- 
ence of the islands, by immediate negotiation for annexation 
to the United States. 

" You are aware that the government of the United States 
has never made any propositions to his majesty's government 
to annex the islands, though the matter has undoubtedly en- 
gaged the attention both of citizens of the United States and 
of subjects of the king. To me it is not surprising that the 
* merchants and landed proprietors,' whether Americans or 
others, should perceive great commercial advantages in such 
a connection, considering that the principal part of the com- 
merce of the islands is with the United States, and that the 
islands must look almost exclusively to the Pacific coast of the 
United States for a market for their products and the means 
of paying for their heavy imports. I perceive, therefore, noth- 
ing very extraordinary in the project remonstrated against. 
And if now, or at any future time, it shall be found to be de- 
cidedly for the interest of both countries to unite their sover- 
eignties, I am unable to perceive any treaty or moral obliga- 
tions on the part of either to forbid the desired union, or any 
good reason for foreign interference to prevent it. 

" French and English subjects might still be entitled to the 
privileges of the ' most favored nation/ and, on the score of 
commercial advantages, can not well complain of being sub- 
jected in these islands to the revenue laws of a country which 
consumes and pays for French manufactures and other prod- 
ucts to the amount of forty millions of dollars annually, and 
of British goods to the amount of one hundred millions annu- 
ally — the revenue laws of a country rapidly growing, and 
whose trade is now of more value to Great Britain and France 
than that of any of their colonies, if not, indeed, of all of them 
added together, vast as English colonies are. 



448 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

— — — — » — ^— ^ — — — ^— . .— — ^— — — — ^ — ^— 

" In view of these great interests, which would be sacrificed 
by a disturbance of pacific relations (to say nothing of several 
hundred millions of American stocks held in Europe, whose 
value might, for the time, be seriously affected), it is not to be 
supposed that France will insist on the little advantage of im- 
porting into these islands silks, wines, &c, to the amount of 
a few thousands of dollars, at five per cent, duty, as she now 
does by her construction of the treaty of the 29th March, 1846 
— a treaty which, instead of being a valid reason why the king 
should not transfer his sovereignty, is a standing and power- 
ful argument to justify him in doing so, since that treaty denies 
to him one of the most important attributes of sovereignty — 
one in the highest degree essential to all independent nations. 

" Still less is it to be supposed that Great Britain will claim 
the privileges of the ' most favored nation' under the French 
treaty, since she has generously thrown up her own treaty of 
the same date and tenure, and substituted that of the 10th of 
July, 1851, in accordance with the American treaty of Wash- 
ington of the 20th of December, 1849. 

" The right to cede or acquire territory, or to unite two in- 
dependent nations by compact, is regarded as inherent in all 
independent sovereignties. It has certainly been practiced 
from time immemorial. The power which can cede a part, 
can cede all the parts. Modern history abounds in examples, 
and none more than English and French history. Annexa- 
tion is neither a new thing, nor rare in our day, as the Turks 
and Arabs of Algeria, the Caffres of Southern Africa, and more 
than one hundred and thirty millions of people in India, can 
testify — people, it is hoped, who may be benefited by the 
change ; but whether so or not, I can not admit that annex- 
ation by voluntary consent is any more illegal or reprehensi- 
ble than annexation by conquest. But whether it be done by 
one process or the other, the government of the United States 
can have no colonies. Whatever territory is added is but an 
integral part of the whole, and subject to the same national 
constitution and laws. 

" The expediency of union with the United States I do not 



REPLY OF THE U. S. COMMISSIONER. 449 

propose to consider at present, for I have no authority to say 
that the United States will consent to any terms that may be 
offered ; yet I have no doubt, if they shall be offered, they will 
be frankly received and duly considered ; but no sinister means 
of accomplishing the object, however desirable, will receive any 
favor from the United States. 

" I am most happy to have your testimony that the com- 
missioner and consuls of the United States have acted fully 
and faithfully up to the principles declared by Mr. Webster 
and Mr. Clayton in the communications referred to by you, 
and I am not permitted to doubt that you will have as little 
reason hereafter as you have now to disturb the friendly in- 
tentions of the government and people of the United States. 

" My regard for the king and his government, and for the 
highly respectable representatives of England and France in 
these islands, who have deemed it their duty to interpose an of- 
fical remonstrance, alike demand the utmost frankness in the 
expression of the sentiments I entertain, which I am sure they 
will appreciate. 

" The agreement or joint declaration of the 28th of No- 
vember, 1852, that neither Great Britain nor France would 
take possession of these islands, as a protectorate or otherwise, 
was creditable to those powers. The government of the Uni- 
ted States was not a party to the engagement, neither was 
Kamehameha III., so far as appears. The parties to it, by 
their naval forces, had both made hostile demonstrations upon 
the king's sovereignty. 

" The United States has not ; but, both before and since, 
though their interests were far greater here than those of any 
or all foreign powers, they have constantly respected the gov- 
ernment of the king. They have never sought to limit the 
right of his government to frame its own system of finance, 
enact its own revenue laws, regulate its own system of public 
education, establish its own judicial policy, or demanded any 
special favors, and they were the first to recognize the com- 
plete and unqualified national independence of the kingdom, 
by the treaty of the 20th of December, 1849. 



450 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

" The treaty having been faithfully observed, there is noth- 
ing in the policy of the United States toward these islands 
which requires concealment or demands an explanation — 
nothing to disturb the harmony which happily exists between 
the United States and the great commercial pqwers of Europe. 

" Lest silence on my part, after the publication of the joint 
remonstrance, should make a different impression here or else- 
where, and considering the distance from the seats of gov- 
ernment of Europe and America, it maybe advisable to depart 
from the usual course in such matters, and to publish this let- 
ter also, to go with the remonstrance of the British and French 
representatives. 

" I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient 
servant, Luther Severance. 

" His Excellency Robert Crichton Wyllie, Min- ) 
ister of Foreign Relations," <fec, <fec. ) 

The joint address of the British and French consuls is not 
merely at war with the most solid facts,^ but with existing 
treaties, and it betrays a characteristic jealousy as to territorial 
rights claimable on the part of the United States. The Con- 
stitution of the Hawaiian Islands gives to the monarch a le- 
gitimate sovereignty as a king merely. t But the diplomacy 
of France and England, as visible in their treaties, has attempt- 
ed to deprive him of his sovereign rights, by bringing the gov- 
ernment, several times, under their own exclusive control. 
Some of those attempts have been as perfidious as despotism 
could render them.$ In his reply, the American Commis- 
sioner briefly referred to the territorial aggrandizement of 
France and England. Neither of those nations has the least 

* "The king, by and with the approval of his cabinet and Privy 
Council, in case of invasion or rebellion, can place the whole king- 
dom or any part of it under martial law ; and he can even alienate 
it, if indispensable to free it from the insult and oppression of any 
foreign power." — Article 39 of the Constitution o/1852. 

f See Articles 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 36, of the Constitution 
of 1852. \ See treaties in Appendix VI. 



BRITISH AND FRENCH DOMINION. 45 J 

chance to vindicate themselves from the serious charge of ter- 
ritorial extension. Of all nations on earth, England should 
be silent on this theme. The London Quarterly Review 
exults in the crushing policy which British supremacy has en- 
tailed on the East : 

" Our territory is equal to all Continental Europe, Russia 
excepted. Peshawur is as far north of Tanjore as Stockholm 
is of Naples ; Chittagong as far east of Kurrachee as Athens 
is of Paris. Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Belgi- 
um, Denmark, and Sweden, unitedly, do not equal either our 
territory or our population. The report of the grand trigono- 
metrical survey, which has lately been printed for Parliament, 
gives the total — area in square miles, 1,368,113 ; population, 
151,144,902. And a corrected copy, with which we have 
been favored, adds seven millions and a half to this population, 
most of which is in our own territories, but part in the native 
states, making the total 158,774,065. But the fact is, that 
even from our territories, many of the returns are no better 
than guesses, and from the native states few are to be relied 
upon. It has, however, generally proved that accurate returns 
give a higher population than previous estimates, and after 
considerable attention to the subject for years, we should not 
be surprised to find the official statement gradually coming up 
from its present advanced figure to nearly two hundred mill- 
ions. 

" This splendid empire is distributed into four governments 
or presidencies — Bengal, Madras, Bombay, and Agra. The 
first is the seat of the Governor General and the Supreme 
Council ; the next two have each a Governor and Council ; 
and Agra is administered by a Lieutenant Governor without a 
Council. The army is : Queen's troops, 29,480 ; Company's 
European troops, 19,928 ; Company's native troops, 240,121 : 
total, 289,529 ; native contingents commanded by British of- 
ficers, and available under treaties, 32,000 : total at the dis- 
posal of the Governor General, 321,529. This is a great 
army, yet its proportion to the extent of the empire presents a 
forcible comment on the nature of the British rule. Compare 



452 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

it with the proportion which the armies of the Continent bear 
to the population of the respective countries, and you might 
imagine that they were holding conquered nations, and we 
governing our hereditary soil. Forty-nine thousand out of the 
whole are Englishmen ! a less number than is generally found 
necessary to garrison the one city of Paris. Even the native 
rajahs, with a population of 55,000,000, have 400,000 sol- 
diers ; while we, with double the population, have 110,000 
less, though they are guaranteed against external war, and we 
have to take all risks. Then our 240,000 native troops are a 
strength or a weakness, just as our authority is popular or the 
reverse. Were their attachment lost, how formidable would 
they be, taught in our mode of war, and five times as numer- 
ous as the English soldiers. "Were they and the troops of the 
rajahs united against us, it would be 50,000 against 640,000. 
You may travel through India for days together without com- 
ing on a military station. You may pass through kingdoms 
with three millions or more inhabitants, containing only one 
post of European troops. You may find great cities with- 
out a soldier ; the remains of vast fortifications, near which 
not a uniform is visible. Facts such as these, when contrast- 
ed with the constant display of military force in the countries 
of even civilized Europe, forcibly prove that the power of the 
English has foundations in the homes of the people as well as 
in the cantonments of the soldiery. In the native regiments 
the officers are, as to numbers, about half native, half En- 
glish ; but no native officer can rise higher than to a sort of 
captaincy or majority, and even then is under the youngest 
European ensign, a position much worse than that enjoyed by 
Hindoos in the armies of the Mussulmans. Bengal, Madras, 
and Bombay have three distinct armies and three command- 
ers-in-chief." 

But how did the British governmer t obtain " this splendid 
empire?" Was it done by an honorable purchase or a just 
diplomacy ? No ! But it resembled, to a great extent, the 
aggressive warfare which aimed at the extermination of the 
rising liberties on this continent in 1779. The acquisition of 



BRITISH AND FRENCH DOMINION. 453 

British " empire" in India has been marked with rapine and 
blood, perfidy and cruelty, and every crime denounced in the 
Decalogue. Marvelously plain are the remarks of Dr. Bow- 
ring — the present British consul at Canton — made thirteen 
years ago, at a public meeting convened in London for the 
special purpose of relieving the wrongs of India : 

" We are called together to consider the interests of 
150,000,000 of our fellow-subjects. England has long held 
the sceptre over the millions of India, but what has she ever 
done for them but to rob them of their rights ? We boast 
that we are a civilized, a religious, an instructed nation. 
What of all these blessings have been conferred upon India ? 
The inhabitants of that fine, that noble country, are not to be 
compared even to the Swiss upon his bleak and barren mount- 
ains. We are a large commercial country, but we have nev- 
er extended the humanizing and civilizing blessings of com- 
merce to India. This is an agricultural nation. What a pic- 
ture does India present ? Possessing boundless tracts of land, 
with every shade of climate, fit for the best productions of the 
earth, yet men perishing by thousands and hundreds of thou- 
sands from famine, while the store-houses of the East India 
Company are filled with bread wrung from their toil by a 
standing army. We have boasted of our religion. Have we 
imparted any of it to the nations of India ? W r e profess to be 
a well-governed nation, and to be well acquainted with the 
principles of liberty, which we highly prize ; but we have not 
given that liberty to India. We have not even made justice 
accessible to them. So far from imparting commerce to In- 
dia, we have ruined that which she commenced before. It 
is not many years since India supplied almost every European 
nation with cotton cloths. Now we supply her with our 
fabrics." 

This is the deadly venom, the serfdom so crushing to pros- 
trate India, which the London Times advocates, when it reads 
to the American people, on the theme of American annex- 
ation, such grave lessons ; such the glory of that nation, " upon 
whose possessions the sun never sets," that is incessantly point- 



454 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

ing to the state of our own domestic institutions. Looking on 
" this picture, then on that," one is led to exclaim, with the 
old Roman, " O tempora ! O mores /" 

Of French policy in annexation, little need be said. The 
reader may look to her African colonies. He may follow in 
the wake of her ships of war, and trace the perfidious conduct 
of their commanders at the Society Islands, and their treat- 
ment of the Sandwich Island king — all of which was sanc- 
tioned by France. He may then look at the condition and ac- 
quisition of French Guiana on the South American Continent. 

It has been already intimated by the British and French 
representatives, that " any attempt to annex the Sandwich 
Islands to any foreign power whatever would be in contraven- 
tion of existing treaties, and could not be looked upon with in- 
difference by either the British or the French government." 

The first of these claims assumes a most unreal basis for 
diplomatic language in behalf of "treaties." The faith held 
by the " great powers" of Europe toward feeble neighbors is 
nothing less than a mere convenience for the achievement of 
their own individual plans at national aggrandizement. How 
often have they formed " treaties" on the verge of some great 
emergency, or after an enormous waste of blood, and life, and 
treasure on the field of battle ! and how often have those 
treaties been snapped asunder, like a withered reed, to suit the 
designs of some arch-tyrant ! And yet, amid such perfidy, 
some imperious shadow behind the throne has issued a decree 
that such a step was necessary for the security of govern- 
ment! "Was it for this "security" that England and France 
stood by silently when the perfidious Muscovite applied the 
scourge that leveled Poland to the dust, and rendered her the 
Niobe of nations ? Was it for this " security" that the great 
German family has become tongue-tied — that Italy, beautiful 
Italy, which had 

" The fatal gift of beauty, which became 
A funeral dower of present woes and past," 

has been locked up, as it were, in her own sculptured sepul- 
chres, without the power and the means to 



•FAITH OF EUROPEAN NATIONS. 455 

"Awe the robbers back who press 
To shed her blood, and drink the tears of her distress ?" 

Was it for this ''security" that proud and patriotic Hungary 
has had the bloody sword placed to her neck by that most per- 
fidious of nations — Austria ? or that Ireland has been bruised, 
lacerated, crushed, impoverished, destroyed, by the iron heel of 
England ? Was it for this " security" that, for the last thou- 
sand years, the despots of Europe have shed the blood of their 
best and bravest sons — and daughters too — or, branding them 
with treason, have sent them into perpetual exile, or confined 
them in a felon's cell, bestowed upon them felon's food, and, 
at death, gave them the privilege of rotting in a felon's grave ? 
Since the disastrous defeat of Napoleon the Great on the 
field of Waterloo, has European faith been held more sacred ? 

" Is earth more free ? 
Did nations combat to make one submit, 
Or league to teach all kings true sovereignty? 
"What ! shall reviving thraldom again be 
The patched-up idol of enlightened days ?" 

When that great impersonation of progressive freedom was 
vanquished at that " king-making victory," it put back the 
dial of European liberty for half a century. The sovereigns 
and leaders of the "allied armies" held a special congress to 
make provision for the " security" of their respective govern- 
ments. Then and there a treaty was drawn up and signed, 
on the reception of the Eucliarist, that the empire of France 
should never be resumed in the Napoleonic name. And how 
has the faith of that treaty been observed by the allied sover- 
eigns ? We look across the Atlantic, and behold no less a 
miracle than Louis Napoleon — successively the exile, the 
prisoner, the president — now the Emperor of France. 

In relation to the " non-indifference" of France and England, 
it is nothing to us — nothing in itself but an empty boast. In 
case of opposition from that source — and it is altogether im- 
probable — we can defy it. They have no business to interfere 
in matters relative to our well-being as an independent repub- 
lic ; for " they have prosecuted colonization and annexation 



456 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

on too gigantic a scale to have their nerves shocked at what 
in itself is neither an outrage on human rights or national 
good faith, but what must redound to the interests of the 
world of commerce, and perhaps the preservation of the orig- 
inal inhabitants of these islands. We hope that no miserable 
squeamishness about enlarging our boundaries, no cant about 
manifest destiny, will prevent the consummation of what is a 
destiny brought about by the course of events, without the 
trickery of diplomacy or the violence of unscrupulous ambition. 
Great Britain dare not interfere to prevent this peaceful ab- 
sorption of the Sandwich Islands as the station of the stars 
and stripes in the Pacific ; and France can not." 

Annexation would confer a benefit on the Hawaiian people. 
"The rude and oracular rhyme in which the islanders tell 
the story of their race passing away from the earth is touching 
indeed ; and the prophecy in a few years will be accomplished 
— the simple-minded savages will have departed. Our abo- 
rigines are passing away, because of their contact with civil- 
ized man ; these islanders seem to suffer, being in a measure 
tabooed. The missionary has, indeed, excluded rum — the 
poison of the North American tribes ; but he could not cast 
out the demon of intemperate lust, and beneath this curse the 
natives of the Pacific Islands are melting away like hailstones 
beneath the sun of their own tropical clime. They are fated 
— the disease is mortal, the missionaries have not applied the 
balm, and civilized, and Christian, and free men must come 
in contact with them ; Christianity has been planted on the 
islands, and the savages have been taught its lessons, while, 
alas ! they have missed the benefits and blessings of Christian 
civilization. The missionary has compassed sea and land to 
make his proselytes, and they are almost as unhappy as con- 
verts as when they were heathen. The missionary policy has 
evidently been to keep the natives in a state of vassalage and 
tutelage — to make them pay the expenses of their tuition by 
a species of religious serfdom. Religious freedom and eman- 
cipation are their only hope, and this they will secure by the 
introduction of the free laws of an American state." 



REASONS FOR ANNEXATION. 457 

Whatever of Christianity or civilization have been grasped 
by that people, they are indebted mainly to the United States 
for them. The Protestant Churches of America have ex- 
pended a large sum to Christianize the Hawaiians. # Annex- 
ation would permit them to gain access to the greatest possible 
amount of good in the shortest time possible. They would 
procure the boon an exclusive Christianity has never yet con- 
ferred. Before many years, we shall see representatives of 
Hawaii — probably scions of royalty — in the Congress of the 
United States. And the channels of native industry, which 
ecclesiastical legislation has so long closed, will be fully opened, 
thereby securing an honorable subsistence to the remnant of 
the race, should that remnant exist. 

Annexation would advance our commercial interests in the 
Pacific Ocean. The preceding pages of this volume will show 
that American commerce predominates in the North Pacific, 
and especially at the Sandwich Islands. A remnant of the 
original savage race survives on these beautiful islands, and a 
copper-colored king — a caricature of royalty — represents them 
in the family of nations. But our citizens have quietly gone 
there, and by the right of nature and humanity — superior to 
the decrees of pontiff or of despot — have colonized there. The 
rapidity with which American commerce has spread to every 
clime is a modern miracle hi history. Although only in its 
infancy, it nearly equals in tunnage the marine of England, 
which has been ages in forming. Polynesia is a world of 
wealth undeveloped. What little of it is known is mainly ow- 
ing to the indomitable energy of American enterprise. 

With the vast increase of commercial wealth, there will be 
a stern necessity for a strong naval force to protect it. Placed 
directly in the great commercial route from the West to the 
East, the Sandwich Islands can be rendered an impregnable 
naval depot, and maintained for that special purpose. Rome, 
Greece, England, France, and Spain have successively claim- 
ed the prerogative to protect the interests and claim the re- 
sults that have emanated from their own commercial systems. 

* See Appendix VII. 
U 



458 SANDWICH ISLAND NOTES. 

This is the prerogative of every maritime power. Destined, 
as they are, to achieve the most splendid transformations in 
the history of humanity, by rolling back a mighty tide of civ- 
ilization to the Orient from whence it sprung, can the Amer- 
ican people be satisfied with any thing short of a competent 
naval defense of their commerce scattered over the Pacific ? 

But, beyond all reasons that have been urged, annexation 
is a step absolutely necessary on the part of our government. 
The Sandwich Islands are absolutely essential to the protec- 
tion of the western confines of the United States. Their fu- 
ture annexation is a matter, not of choice, but of necessity — a 
necessity even more imperative than that which calls for our 
possession of Cuba, and less complicated with difficulties. We 
are surrounded by foes, and there are those in our midst who 
would never fail to sing " Hosannas" if they could but see the 
death-struggle of that liberty which our honored fathers pur- 
chased on so many battle-fields. The day is not far distant 
when our western boundary will require to be watched with 
a close scrutiny, and protected by an efficient force. Mexico, 
on the south, although she could not destroy, may, in case of 
renewed hostilities, harass our commerce. Russian America, 
on the north, in close communication with the eastern shores 
of her Asiatic possessions, could, in case of a rupture, send 
down a fleet which for a time would sweep our western sea- 
board of its commerce. Her recent treatment of Poland ; her 
oppressions to the races inhabiting the Caucasus ; her hellish 
perfidy toward Turkey ; her recent butchery of Hungarian 
troops — all these are sufficient warnings to the statesman that 
no national faith can be reposed in Russia. 

In this age, when some unforeseen event may burst forth and 
revolutionize the commerce, the politics, and the national char- 
acter of the Old World, it is of the greatest moment that the 
United States should be impregnable at every point — that they 
should possess those outposts which will best aid in national 
defense. This step becomes at once an imperative duty, the 
performance of which it seems impossible to avoid. The 
Sandwich Islands must be ours at all risks — if there are any 



NECESSITY OF ANNEXATION. 459 

— and at every cost ! Sincerely it is hoped that our govern- 
ment is awake to the necessities of the movement, and will 
take care that neither England nor France slip into posses- 
sion while it is considering what would be the safest policy to 
pursue. There is but one wise and safe policy, and that is to 
accept the islands from King Kamehameha, if he wishes to 
make a trade, and give him a comfortable pension. The 
Sandwich Islands are exceedingly desirable as auxiliaries to 
our commercial enterprises in the Pacific, and since the course 
of events are bringing them within the circle of " manifest 
destiny," let us unhesitatingly and thankfully accept 

" The goods the gods provide us." 

Let Kamehameha III. keep broad and fertile lands for the 
use of himself and household, but let him lay aside the ridic- 
ulous insignia which have so long rendered him a mere play- 
thing in the hands of designing men. Once in the possession 
of the United States, it will be seen that those islands will 
materially affect the hopes and the happiness of millions of our 
countrymen by protecting their interests, and of myriads of 
Polynesians by extending to them the advantages of a civil- 
ized commerce. 

It is now, while the United States afford an asylum for the 
oppressed of all nations — while European and Asiatic dynas- 
ties are trembling for their present safety and future prosperity 
— while the grand struggle is going on between Freedom and 
Despotism, to be performed on a republican or monarchical 
theatre — it is now that the American people are to take those 
steps, of whatever necessary character, which shall pave the 
way more fully toward the goal of their future greatness and 
glory. * 

* See Appendix "VTIL 



A P P E I D I I. 



CONTENTS. 



Appendix Page 

I. Custom-House Statistics 463 

II. Financial Statistics 469 

III. Meteorological Table 470 

IY. Criminal Statistics 472 

V. Eeport on Missionary Lands, and Comparative Table . . . 474 

YI. Treaties relating to the Sandwich Islands 477 

YII. Cost of Missionary Enterprise at the Sandwich Islands . . 482 

YIII. Extracts from a Speech of Mr. Washburn, of Maine, in the 

House of Representatives 484 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX I. 

The following Tables will show the character, extent, and increase 
of the commerce at the Sandwich Islands from 1836, inclusive: 



10 o o o o o o • 
o o o o o o o k 
o^o^oo^c^o . 

"ariTB A TB10X *- « lT O i^ « •* pi g- 



-35* 'sjBtn 'sjsq 'aajgoa 
*adai <s«3p i UBOuacay 'qsijug '9S9arq3 spoo*) 



{ 



•S^UBIt 



o 
o 
o 



•»2p '8j:bja.ssbi3 'ui3 '&q?opp«oiq 'spooS ao^OQ \ "Bissruj 



o o 

o o 
o o 



•osp 'sounds 'Jusisoq 'sagpoAv 'aiBAV f 

-ssbj3 'ajB^ipjBq 'zjtnqo pas sjnud 'sqpp 2uo r i \ 



•up^aa ^ai£) 



00000 
00000 

o~ao~»oo'"'cf 



o 
o 
o^ 

cT 

OS 



pSBOo -AYlsL V™ 

*32j> 'nouqBS 'siBds 'jaqam^ < '.iaAijj Btqtunpj 

( 'paaos illojJOM 



00000 
00000 
©,©00;© 



O 

o 
o 



•*% 



•spuBfsi maqjnog 



^bStis qpqs {.read pnc s[JBad <ip '[pqs apinx \ J 3 p q JJ SoKuSy 1 



000 
000 

r— 1 O •— I 



o 
o 



o 
ft. 



•spoo3 qsijug f 

saios pus 's^jts 'sbbj 'suojpo arqq ^aae^UBU arqg \ 



•Tjarqo 



00000 
o © © o^o_ 

t*- *tfi 00 M 1— 1 



o 
o 



*AnBdpaud uo m n< l P a8 aj^adg 



*09TX3X^ 



o o 
o o 

50,0 

«o~of 

CO C* 



000 
000 
o^o^o^ 

©"(rfo" 
g^j -^ w 



o 
o 

©~ 



•s9^;s p^n *m 

caojj asoqj so sapr^B aaiBS puB 's^nu 'spuoaqy 



*nno 



o o 
o o 

oTco" 



OOO 
OOO 
©^©©^ 

o^r-TatT 
r-t 00 <r* 



o 

o 
o 



'jvio^b; 'sapiq 'sinj 'smqs lajp paB[ puB b^s \ 



00000 
00000 
os o o ino 

oo~oTi-r^rt-r 

t> Tf CO <N r- 1 



o 
o 

-3< 



•o$> 'sjupd 'noil 'dvos 'am^uinj 'squids j* 
pue sauiAv 'pB9iq 'jnog 'saio^s jbabu 'sbahbo 
'g^Bpjoo 'zaddoo 'aiBAipiBq 'zjaxqa 'surud arqq 1 
paB 'p9q3B9iqan 'p9qoB9jq 'suo^oa jo Saijsisuoo I 



•S9^B;g pa}iaQ 



00000 
o o o o o 

hOMhN 



o 
o 
o_ 

oo" 

OS 



O ® 
o © 

i 



ONQDOO 1—1 
CO CO 00 CO Tf rP 

oo qd C3D acoo ao 

I— I I— I !— I I— I !-H ^1—1 

o 
•<* 

oo ~ 



"*r-i O 

sis. 

ft£^ 



464 



APPENDIX. 



w 
b* 

O 

X 





00000 




«o O GO 


•eni^A I^oi 


<?^oj3D^o > c^ 




eo~oTio "^ O CO 




1- t-~ i> 




m> 


*Sf8SS8A ^UBqOJSUI puB SlTIfBqM. 


00000 
00000 


0} pat? 'ibav jo sdiqs o; p^os ' - o^ 


oo^o_o_o^ c^ 


'sapqBjaS»A 'qsaaj puB ^jus 'suoisiAOij 






000 


•punod iod sjU8J> g ^w '^ooa A\oixy 


CD O O O CN 
CO C< CO t-» CO 




r-4 C<f 




O O 


•pssaA nq^o « A*q u83[bj qto ausdg 


O O 
O^ O^ 




■<*" oT 




00000 > . 




0000000 




-* <o »o »o -^ 2 


-^tired ioj pasn puB 


cf 


^Tin ©fpaBO oqj uioij opt? in '{to irujti}! 


■3 ° 

O 




.W P3 




2,Q 




M 


"uojibS iad s^uao. £g 


0000 

O »0 O O OS 


puB 'o& 'SS 'S& V* 'druAs puB sassBjoj^; 


o^o^co co^ 




1— ( CO CO I s * »-^ 




0000 




0000 


•punod jad s;ua;> £ puB 'g> 's q,B 'xB&ng 


CO &jo o_ 




tOiOOO C0~ 




T— 1 


•punod ia<i sjuoo gx ^b 'ooaBqo:; jb^i 


00 

00 




VO CO CO 




00000 


qoxiBq xod 55 i& ^b ^Bg 


«o 








rl*«>HiNW <N 




OOOOO O 




O O O O O Th 


*qOB» SJU80- g& ^B 'SOT^S IBOf) 


OOOOO >-H 








OOOOO 




OOOOO 


•qoBO 5$ ;b 'sapiq goofing 


o^o^o^ o_ 




C*OZG2<£cD cT 


>-H J-H r-< 1— 1 I-H 




0000 




0000 


qnard iod £$ ;jb 'pooA\ {Bptrag 


00^ 0^0^ 




tOG*SQr-4 




<M t-i (M 




=€©■ 


60 


.9 tDt^QDCbcS' f-T 


- S CO CO CO CO Tt< rf 

5 00 go ao ao qd 00 


w 1— 1 r- 1 r-H i-H r-H >— t 


O 


3 Tt< 


"2 °° 


2 s ^ r 


Pl, oj ~ - bD 






*> *> 


Z, I-H-H O 


■2 © s~ 


h h^Ps* 



APPENDIX. 



465 



o 



CO 



ao 

CO 



. O O © © O Tt" 

« c o o o o cn 

a 

•5 © t-» tp <M *-* co 

SnoiM'}* © 

■§00^ co cn 



© © © © 
0000 


OD I- © O 

oo«o 



© C* 



QD CO 

t>Tcf 

CO 



© o 
© o 

co ao 

1— 1 CO 

CO to 

CN <?* 

1— 1 i-< 



©ao 
:0 © 



OOODin^OOQOOOO 

co©©cocn©©co©©© 



Is 

o 

8- 

.1 



Is 

© 



© 



- 

w 
o 

a 

(4 

H 

09 

o 

S 

o 



c^T©' 

co -<^ 



jC«o" i-J" i-T cf 



o 

X 

00 

■ft 



00 •* t^ itt ^ O 
COO^COJ> Tf 

1--. 00 t>- ao '—i ao 

© ao © ao ao co 

o 






co 

© 



«9 



^ 



x 



■ 



■ 

■si 

- — 
BO 



x 03 

£ s 

03 CO 

X 35 



o 
a. 

CP 

o 



O .3 

p a, 

fc£ X 

I I » 

00 05 a) 

e -e -Eg o w» 



o o e.a 



ad 



&&g cd© 



-a 

S a* 



x 

CO 

5s 



e>» ^-t co o © t>ao o "* -^ © »> cn ^ «o cn ^n o* 



x W>>»8 bp« 

03 C »n „ S3 50 

3 O a) &£< J2 cd 



■I- 



CD 4- 

«3 cd _r 

^n 03 " 

:3-~ 



S 



5 ^^3"3 

•73 OS Ok? 



-_ 
•- 

CD 

)- 

CD 

X 

S3 
O 
43 



X 

3 

U 
"3 

o 



00 ©00 
© i— 1 00 
COJX^© 

rt« © 
CO 



00CO©©COl>iOC>»C>?C0C0©iO© 
© CO © CO — Hi— 1 Tt< »— 1 00 ■?« CN © 6N © 

<?*© ©_ao ^^o <? l c i. T * 1 ^ ^^^ 
'GfiriGiaodiG* co"cTc?r ©'©"ao^ 

© o CM CO t-i t-l CN 1— 1 



o 
© 

Bt 

O 



© 

•53 

E. 

© 



so 

© 
© 

CD 



X 

CD 

CJ 

•— 
00 

O 

c 



2 

- - 
.0 o 



S °3 

O CD 

OS 



ad 

X X - X 



X 



T2 J5 Co 

X — 

•-• «3.-T 
i° "* ^ 



«« »A©Tt<©© 

(OOhhOO 
1— 1 © © © 1^- © 

O0 1— I >-H CN © © 



a 

ad 

03 .-* 



X X 

X X 
03 _03 

"3 "3 



CD 

£ 

CD 

i 

o 



C3 



U2 



f©^^ 






03 § 

* J .2 

Cm 'cB 
0.2 



a 

% 

M 

a 

a 

X 

x^ 

OD 
X 

a 
=- 

u, 

» & X In *3 
fl ^ 03 » jn 

■«-» C3 T3 c — n 

3-g 5 cd bo 

°3 a > I 
.m o 43 « .a 



^ .© c?©ao 

© a>© rjl ^ © 

t^ •£© 1— irfOO 

© .S -^ © GO CO 
©^ -g ©^CO^i— 1 co^ 
1— I Q © CO 1—4 



00 00 o 

© © ao 

<»© Tt" Irt 

© © 1— 1 >o 

l^c^©^© 

©"ao" 



o 

X 

© 
x^ 

aT 

o 



•§c3 



cd 

S3 
^ CD 

cd 3d 
03 x3 

cd ?3 



CO >n 

e Cd ^n 03 cd 



X 

o 

s 

"3 

o 



466 



APPENDIX. 



T3 

O 41 
03 

3g 






© C? © CO <N 
00 1~- CO rj< 
i— i i— i o 



o 

o 






© 
o 
o 



co 



© 

© 
o 



CO 



o 



o 
o 



w 



o 


o 


o 


o 


CO 


© 


©* 


CO 


Tt< 



oo 



o 
o 

UT5 



C0l>. 
(MOO 



t-mcO <?* 
CO CO 



(M 00 



© 

o 
co 



o «o o 



CO 



Tfi Tf © CO 0005 
00 OS OOOOO 
OO) O © O 



CO 1~- 



I— « ^ »— • 



O t)< 1^ (N ^ rHOOr-i 

Oi>^MH i-H O O rj< 

o^c* i>^ oo ©^ao©^ 

I— ( I— « OTj<lOlH 






o 
o 



Ort^co 

*- © CO 

i— < 00 i— i 



~ CO <M 



•0lMiHW(NC<Q0OHlNTf(00i-*i0t-m oo 

^OO^i— I O© CO t-4 en ©^©©^©^-t i-l (?» ^"^ 

5 o^cb^ocTt^f-r »rf i-ToTcT^ <-* i-T oi <w 

S T-HT+I O Ol d<M i-i 



o 



O O CO 

© t-i Ttfl 

CO 



O CO Tfi J> O 00 

OlOOirtOO 

cooo^c^ >o^ 



<M O 
00 o 

CO CO 
00 t- 

cT 

© 

39= 



CO 05 05 05 05 00 

o Q wgg £2 w 



'""• -J «4 *— * -J —J -J -J *"* <"^ •—• 



05 05 

-P*P 



o£ cd cd k3 kJ c3 

tCfcX) 42 42 42 42 



75 


05 


0) 


o> 


4=,P 


O 




P^ 


P 


P 


^=42 



05 05^ 



05 
CD 

«5 ... 

* E3 CC5c2 



05 
05 g 

<U O 

o 



cd 



C3 



3 g 
O Pi 

P<-M 

•P CO **i i-i 
05 £ CD 



02 £ 



Sag 



c72cy2SOc73^c^mEHWO<1pHH 




HONOLULU — Domestic supplies to 177 merchant vessels, at an aver- 
age of $150 each $26,550 00 

To 226 whalers, at an average of $220 each 49,720 00 

To men of war, &c 5,000 00 

LAHAINA— To all vessels 29,645 00 

HILO— To all vessels 16,123 00 

Other ports 600 00 

Total $127,638 00 



APPENDIX. 



467 



w 



o 

H 
P 

ft 
p 
o 
ra 

P 
ft 



QO 



fa 

o 

ft 

o 

00 

««{ 

W 

GO 

ft 

M 

Ph 
CO 

H W 

w H 

H^ 
H H 

C w 

ftp 

S§ 

p£ 
pft 

^ p 

« 

o 

fa 
fa 

fa 

p 
fa 

Ph 
Ph 

w 

CO 

ft 

« 

fa 
ft 

O 

m 

p 
ft 

P 

o 



C* OS 

1-H SO 

00 OS 

00 i-i 



cpoo tH 

O*^,C0 i—i 



oo o 

co oo 

C* i-t 



00 



ea 



^h ooo 

Tfl ■— I O 

CO <?*.i~ 

<?f cfoD 

f-l CSO« 

o 



00 fr- 

<rf P 

00 



00 o> 

-H *> 

OS Tf 



pj 

o 

c 
o 

w 



t3 



**2 



s 

o 
-ft 

8 

© 

to 

02 



*0 



v. 

fin- 



's 

§ 

8 

o 

&0 



I 1 



ri 



PW 



pi 

3 s 

2 «* 
Kp 



=3 

i— i 

o 
c 
o 

K 



QO 



O 

ft 

t— i 

Ph 
P 
P 

P 
P 
P 
P 

C 

ft 

o 
K 

00 

p 
fa 

00 
00 

fa 
i> 

p 

<1 
ft 
o 

*-H 

Ph 
<1 
ft 



M 

£ 


ence. 

0. 

cisco. 


"0 

s 


V. » fi 


3 
o 


^ ca fa .3 


pq 


v.-h pfl 




O « eS ^ 




Ph>coE-i 








«H 


>»> >% be 





cJ o 7H pj 
SftPl^ 


■4-a 


q 






BB 




T3 




^o 




•3 o 




OO u 




t- 1 00 


a 


00 "o 


z 
— 






O O &rs. 








^^ — < •— j c 




cd C3 RJ cS 




OOOoo 


a 




a 


tH rH co CO 


3 
3 


(7* "* CO CO 




>. 






B 


u "3 S.S 


= 


'Sfi fcc be 




I- . .^ -l-H 


w> 


pp^t> 




03 




53 




o S3 

j: 03 




•r- 1 >i • • 


= 


is ^ .2 .2 


z 


C-kJ 03 03 

pT M b£ be 

Sjpp 






<1ooPH 




>: >>>> 




03 Cti KS 




£££ 




<5SS 


r- 


oo'ft ft 


o 


03 _. __, 

.£3 'O X3 




cdCC 


z 


CO* ^i 




^3 "O 03 03 




00 03 -O T3 




+2 .tJ 03 03 




■c fi 15 £ 




pqpooco 


j 




« 










o w >n 


-— 
O 

a 


bo o bi 
53 § § o 

Shir") 


P 





468 



APPENDIX. 



r — 


fie 


d 


J>. i-H 


00 


>j 












d 


»0 1—11—4 


fc» 


. 


« 






CO 










Ph 


6 

H 


d 
2 


00 fH 
00 


as 

00 


h5 


a 


























£ 


< 

a 

<! 
A 


d 


o coo 

00 
t— t 


OS 
00 
I-H 


d. 
O 




WHH00>H »-•©» 




CO 




z 


1 


O i-» 


CO 




o 


co 


CO 




a 












00 CO 00 


00 






g 


•**• OS OS 


CO 




a 


c 


c© CO 


T£ 




Eh 




I-H 




H 

< 


















< 


d 


»o i— i «■> 


I— 1 




M 


Z 




I— \ 


«! 


B 


o o o o 


o 




(3 


g 


CO O O ITS 


I— 1 




M 


o 


coo GO CO 


co^ 






H 




1—1 






- 












H4 










h| 
W 


o 


CO CO i-l rH 


CO 


o 


M 


















a 

o 


CO 


CO 


Ul 




o 


o 




6 

Hi 


Eh 


CO 


CO 








O 
Pi 


a 


d 


CO 


CO 








W 




• 


ooooo 


CO 




3 


0*05 


CO 


H 


<4 

S5 


O 
Eh 


o^co ^h 

CO r— i i— t 


CO 

ccT 




M 

a 
















<; 








VI 


* 


d 


O t- i— I 


00 


vl 




fc 


CO rH 


CO 


03 














d CO *> CO O 00 i— t CO kO CO 


«0 




cc 


HOHO)OH<o i> t- CO 


CO 






C 

o 
Eh 


S CO^CO 05 Oi Tt^ i-H CO CO 

o 


co^ 

CO 


H 










fc 






• cor-^ooco o oo oo »o io rt< o 


o 


<J 


t3 

>-l 


m 


i^Oio^-H t- CO CO W CO CO t~- 

SWCOOCOO J> CJINt-iiHfh -^ 


CO 




c 
o 


©^ 


13 


Eh 


SCO «0 CO i-H 


CD 
CO 


tf 


c 
is 










o 

a 


d 


d 

-GOOCOCOCOCO r-H i— I 


CD 






s? 


5h i-t 

o 


CO 




d 










■diHOOOOM CO MlNHHH I-H 


1— 1 






1 


St- co co 


«* 






5 


r-H 




















ce • • 






















13 • • 
















- £ 






«j • 






•« A -zi <u 

^ CO ro - 

£'5 £ § 


c 


"5 


£ 

as 

as 


4 — 


■S-g 

Sex 




a: 

c 


2 : 13 

£2 H 


i 


£'£c<j£EOp,cjaj«ja>a5 , c<j<D5> 


1 


^pqWrnfeWPHOWiH^rtQ^iPH 



APPENDIX. 



469 



II. 

FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 

From the Annual Report of the Minister of Finance, p. 23, 24, 1852. 

Since the appointment of the Treasury Board, the receipts of the 
government have been, in round numbers, as follows : 

For year ending 31st March, 1843 $41,000 00 

" " " " 1844 69,000 00 

" " " " 1845 65,000 00 

" " " " 1846 75,000 00 

" " M ■ 1847 127,000 00 

■ " " 1848 155,000 00 

" " " n 1849 166,000 00 

1850 194,000 00 

" '• " u 1851 284,000 00 

" " " " 1852 234,169 45 

The receipts for 1852, compared with those of 1851, show a de- 
crease of $50,000; a fact not very creditable to the Minister of 
Finance. 

The Eeceipts for 1853 mat be estimated thus : 

From the Department of the Interior $60,100 

11 Public Instruction 27,600 

" Finance 184,466 

" Land Commission. . 10,000 



a 


a 


u 


M 


it 


It 


(t 


li 


(C 



$282,166 



The Expenditure. 



For the Civil List as before, less the extraordinary 

appropriation last year $24,466 16 

For the Department of the Interior 64,020 00 

" " " " Foreign Relations 8,580 00 

" " " " Finance 26,470 00 

" " " " Public Instruction 50,250 00 

" " " ■ Law, say 45,000 00 

" " " " Land Commission 10,000 00 

" Miscellaneous Appropriations 4,040 00 

" Contingent Expenses 10,000 00 

M Legislature of 1853 10,000 00 

$252,826 16 
leaving $29,339 84 toward the payment of former appropriations. 



470 APPENDIX. 



If the above estimate is correct, the government can not safely 
undertake any public improvements without additional funds, which 
I can not recommend to be raised by a loan without a definite pros- 
pect of a future increase in the receipts of the government, which 
shall be competent to repay all the money thus borrowed, with the 
interest. 

Money is not to be had in these islands except in small sums, for 
short periods, and at a high rate of interest. 

It will be an important question, therefore, for the representatives 
of the people to consider in what way the funds necessary for carry- 
ing on public improvements, and for a permanent increase of the 
revenue, shall be raised. The property tax authorized by the law 
of 1846 was intended for an emergency like the present, but that 
law is so deficient in the details, so unequal in the application, and 
so impracticable in the execution, that I hope you will, in case you 
deem a property tax advisable, substitute a new law for that of 1846. 

A property tax, owing to the peculiar circumstances of the islands, 
will be a difficult and expensive one to collect. 

God preserve the King. 



G. P. Judd. 



III. 

METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. 

The town of Honolulu is in lat. 21° 18' N. and long. 158° 1' W. 
from Greenwich. The climate is subject to little variation. The 
opposite Table, taken from several others recording the weather 
during several years, is an average and accurate specimen of Sand- 
wich Island climate at a few feet above high tide. 



APPENDIX. 



471 



00 
CO 
00 



< 
w 

I* 

w 
o 

- 

o 

o 
K 

<! 

CZ3 
& 

C 

i— i 

> 

W 
O 

i-3 

o 

t— I 

o 
o 
- 
o 

o 
w 



O 

- 

(-3 

P5 
W 

o 



^ -saqaai — qiuoca eqj Suiiiiq 



•S^BQ[ — 8NBH«A 



•sauq — ^tITB}I 



•SABQ — 8UTj[ 



oaoc<ii-ioc<^^©*<ri«di> 



M^O«51O^««!0OW 



M(OTjiiHiHM«i-i«iniO«0 






•sabq — 3[q«tJUA omco>-ieowOiH®mN 



•s.£bg — A^aaq;nos ococoi— lO^MHWbOO 






•UB3K 



ooooo«no»ooo>o»o 






•nmunxBK 



'Wd 01 * 3 ^q-^xaq; aSBJ8Ay 



•jl'j 5 ;b m^iaq eS8JC8Ay 



•j{'Y j, ;b ;q3taq 9Sbi9ay 



i>j>aoaoQoaoGooDaoaocx3J> 



OCTiOQDO'- < O) "* tF O) l> M 

^H<i4c4ciot^i>^odGdoc»3cr5 



ooiriddi-iiNnfidfdd 
i>i^j>i>ooaoooc3DOoaoi>t^ 



coc<»ooc$»ra-<*j<>it^oeo»n 
oii-5e<*^eo»r5«di>0)«ric*-^ 



oooooooooooo 

loooooooooooo 
oocooooooooo 



•urnnnnri\[ aaoaqoooooaoi-^ 

0)0)0)000)000)0)0)0 



•umanxBK 



'Wd 01 ? B l^pq eSvid&y 



'Wd 5 TB iqSiaq eSeiaAy 



•JIT i ?b ^qSiaq eSuieAy 



0D«00)r-iTf<J>Ot(NMQ0(N 

o'ooooooooooo 

CSCQCQCSCOCSCOCOCOCQCOCO 



*miOO(NOlNaOQO(N'tM 
iOOO)^CC0505t^«0-^rt<0) 
000<-h^hOOOOOOO) 

ooocdooooooo'o) 

OOOOOQOOOOOQOOC'SOQOQffOCQ 



oooT)<mo)OQO«in-HQOo 
CTNoo«Tjt©ion(NON 
oosoo^hooooooco 

ooso'oooooooo'oj 



OOONOOhQOMOhOD 
0>HO(N^COON^tT}<N 
OOi— ii— i^hOOOOOOO) 

o" o" o" o" o o o' o" O O* © © 

OOOOOQOOOOCSCQPOOOCOCOOJ 



u • u . 

•>» 2 • » S3 

>,*- -2 u - .5 

e3 § rfi J : : : 2§SSg 

§- limits p 



472 



APPENDIX. 



IV. 

STATISTICS ON CRIME. 

Table showing the whole number of Convictions for Criminal Offenses on the Island 

of Oahu during the Year 1852. 



Offenses. 



Manslaughter 

Assault and battery . . . 

Drunkenness 

Adultery and fornication 

Polygamy 

Larceny 

Receiving stolen goods . 

Riotous conduct. . 

Furious riding 

Forgery 

Perjury 

All other offenses 



Total 



Honolulu. 



1 

51 

659 

323 

7 

53 

5 

77 

191 

2 

2 

90 



1461 



Ewa. 





20 


40 

4 


16 
1 



26 



107 



Waianae. Waialua. 




4 

4 

18 





5 



31 



Koolau 
Loa. 




2 


34 

3 

4 

17 


2 



62 



Koolau 
Poko. 





3 

14 

1 









18 



Whole 
Number. 



1 

82 

659 

415 

7 

80 

5 

97 

209 

2 

2 

123 



1682 



Of the 659 persons convicted of drunkenness, 537 were foreigners 
and 122 natives, principally sailors. 

Of the 228 convicted of fornication, 124 were foreigners and 104 
natives ; while of the 95 convicted of adultery, only 4 were foreign- 
ers and 91 natives. 

Of the 50 convicted for larceny, 10 were foreigners and 40 natives. 

The amount of fines imposed by the police and district justices of 
Honolulu during the year 1852, is as follows: 

By C. C. Harris, Esq., Police Justice $8,775 50 

By J. Kaaukai, Esq 1,761 00 

By J. W. E. Maikai, Esq. 630 00 

Total $11,166 50 

Of this amount there has been collected 10,292 50 

Balance not collected $874 50 

The offenses for which convictions were had, before the district 
justices of Honolulu, during the year 1852, are as follows, viz.: 

Drunkenness 659 

Fornication 228 

Adultery 95 

Assault and battery 49 

Furious riding 191 

Larceny 50 

Receiving stolen goods 5 

Carried forward 1277 



APPENDIX. 473 



Brought forward 12^7 

Gambling 12 

Common nuisance 5 

Selling liquor without license 3 

Riotous conduct, disturbing the peace, <fec 77 

All other offenses 50 

Total 1424 

Maui, Molokai, Lanal 

From the report of James W. Austin, Esq., the District Attorney 
of the district composed of the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, 
I am enabled to lay before you the following statistics of crime in 
those islands : 

The whole number of persons prosecuted in 1852 was. . . . 916 

" acquitted " " 181 



it ik a 



" " " " convicted " " 735 

The whole amount of fines imposed in 1852 was $9425 52 

The offenses for which these fines were imposed were as follows : 

Drunkenness 386 

Fornication 112 

Adultery 98 

Assault and battery 114 

Larceny 94 

Receiving stolen goods 5 

Furious riding 74 

Selling spirituous liquors without license 17 

Profanity 6 

Common nuisance 3 

Aiding deserters to escape 2 

Bigamy 2 

Perjury 2 

Felonious branding 1 

Total 916 

— From the Annual Report of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 
for 1853. 



474 APPENDIX. 



v. # 

REPORT ON "MISSIONARY LANDS," AND COMPARATIVE 

TABLE. 

Certain applications having been made to the Hawaiian govern- 
ment for land, by several members of the Missionary Board residing 
on the Islands, the subject was laid before the Hawaiian Legislature, 
at its session of 24th June, 1851. In view of these applications, the 
King's Privy Council 

Resolved, " That the committee to whom were referred the appli- 
cations of missionaries for lands be requested to take into considera- 
tion the whole subject of granting lands to missionaries, and report 
to this Council the course that in their view should be pursued 
hereafter in regard to them." 

The undersigned present the following statement, which they 
have carefully prepared from the best data that they have been able 
to collect. 

Tit 7|» 7f» *T» 77? 7Tv 71* 7J* 7|» 71* 

The undersigned, under the resolution above quoted, are most 
conscientious in declaring to your majesty, that the respectable and 
well-deserving individuals and families above named, who neither 
hold nor have applied for land, would have great reason to com- 
plain were your majesty to pursue toward them a different course 
from that which has been pursued in relation to their brethren who 
have obtained and applied for land. It becomes, therefore, a matter 
of some importance what that course has been. The missionaries 
who have received and applied for lands have neither received nor 
applied for them without offering what they conceived to be a fair 
consideration for them. 

So far as their applications have been granted, your majesty's gov- 
ernment have dealt with them precisely as they have dealt with 
other applicants for land — that is, they have accepted the price 
where they considered it fair, and they have raised it where they 
considered it unfair. 

It will not be contended that missionaries, because they are mis- 
sionaries, have not the same right to buy land in the same quanti- 
ties and at the same prices as those who are not missionaries. 

The question occurs, Have greater rights been allowed to the mis- 
sionary applicants than to non-missionary applicants? To solve this 
question satisfactorily requires that the undersigned should give 
some statistics. 

But, besides what is strictly due to them, in justice and in grati- 

\ 



APPENDIX. 475 



tude for large benefits conferred by them on your people, every con- 
sideration of sound policy, under the rapid decrease of the native 
population, is in favor of holding out inducements for them not to 
withdraw their children from these islands. One of the undersigned 
strongly urged that consideration upon your majesty in Privy Coun- 
cil so far back as the 28th of May, 1847, recommending that a formal 
resolution should be passed, declaring the gratitude of the nation to 
the missionaries for the services they had performed, and making 
some provision for their children. 

Your majesty's late greatly lamented Minister of Public Instruc- 
tion, Mr. Richards, with that disinterestedness which characterized 
him personally in all his worldly interests, was fearful that to moot 
such a question would throw obloquy upon the reverend body to 
which he had belonged, and hence, to the day of his death, he ab- 
stained from moving it. Neither has any missionary, or any one who 
had been connected with the mission, ever taken it up to this day ; 
but the undersigned, who are neither missionaries, nor have ever 
been connected with them, hesitate not to declare to your majesty 
that it will remain, in all future history, a stain upon this Christian 
nation if the important services of the missionaries be not acknowl- 
edged in some unequivocal and substantial manner. This acknowl- 
edgment should not be a thing implied or secretly understood, but 
openly and publicly declared. 

The undersigned would recommend that the following, or some 
similar resolutions, should be submitted to the Legislature. 

1. Resolved, That all Christian missionaries who have labored in 
the cause of religion and education in these islands, are eminently 
benefactors of the Hawaiian nation. 

2. Resolved, That, as a bare acknowledgment of these services, 
every individual missionary who may have served eight years on 
the Islands, whether Protestant or Catholic, who does not already 
hold five hundred and sixty acres of land, shall be allowed to pur- 
chase land to that extent at a deduction of fifty cents on every acre 
from the price that could be obtained from lay purchasers ; but that 
for all land beyond that quantity, he must pay the same price as the 
latter would pay ; and that those who have served less than eight 
years be allowed to purchase land on the same terms as laymen, un- 
til the completion of the eight years, after which they are to be al- 
lowed the same favor as the others. 

3. Resolved, That all Christian missionaries serving on these isl- 
ands shall be exempt from the payment of duties on goods imported 
for their use in the proportion following, for every year, viz. : on 
goods to the invoice value of one hundred dollars for every active 
member of the mission, excluding servants. 



476 



APPENDIX. 



On goods to the value of thirty dollars for every child above two 
years of age. 

(Signed), R C - Wyllie » 

V * h Keoni Ana. 

Privy Council Chamber, August 19th, 1850. 



[The following is a list of the quantities of land, and the price per 
acre, to ten non-missionary individuals ; and of the quantities of land, 
and the price per acre, to ten individuals belonging to the clergy of 
the American Protestant Mission :] 

NON-MISSIONARY INDIVIDUALS. 



Number 
of Patent. 


Patentee. 


Land, where Situated. 


Acres. 


Price Paid. 


160 


Chas. R. Bishop. 


Hamakualoa, Maui. 


598 


$598 00 


210 


W. Whitmarsh. 


Kona, Hawaii. 


61 


61 00 


185 


Benj. Pitman. 


Hilo, Hawaii. 


210 


316 00 


148 


Danl. Barrett. 


Kona, Hawaii. 


83 


125 00 


278 


Geo. Holmes. 


Waialua, Oahu. 


100 


50 00 


238 


Anderson and Davis. 


Waialua, Oahu. 


25 


77 40 


64 


A. M'Lane. 


Makawao, Maui. 


319 


638 00 


136 


John 0. Davis. 


Waialua, Oahu. 


71 


355 00 




J. Kaeo. 


Koolau, Oahu. 


2345 


1569 00 


250 


W. Goodale. 


Haleia, Kauai. 


500 


2500 00 





MISSIONARIES. 






Number 
of Patent. 


Patentee. 


Land, where Situated. 


Acres. 


Price Paid. 




W. P. Alexander. 


Hamakualoa, Maui. 


360 


$180 00 


209 


D. Baldwin. 


Lahaina. 


13 


19 50 


189 


E. Bond. 


Kohala, Hawaii. 


200 


300 00 


153 


F. W. Clark. 


Pawaa. 


70 


70 00 


241 


D. Dole. 


Waialua, Oahu. 


195 


97 50 


240 


J. S. Emerson. 


Waialua, Oahu. 


166 


62 25 


68 


J. S. Green. 


Makawao, Maui. 


87 


87 00 


177) 
239 j 


P. J. Gulick. 


Waialua, Oahu. 


(632 
\ 61* 


237 00 
61 50 




H. R. Hitchcock. 


Kaluaaha, Molokai. 


1370 9-10 


438 92 




E. Johnson. 


Koolau, Kauai. 


500 


500 00 



—From the " Polynesian" of 1th May, 1852. 

[With all due deference to the statistics of the Hon. R. C. Wyllie, 
Minister of Foreign Relations, and to Keoni Ana, the then Minister 
of the Interior, it remains for me to say that the above table is ex- 
tremely limited. It might have been extended to a much greater 
length, and then it would have shown to what extent the missiona- 
ries are owners of real estate.] 



APPENDIX. 477 



VI. 

TREATIES AND MANIFESTOES RELATING TO THE SAND- 
WICH ISLANDS. 

Visit of t 7 e French Frigate VArtemise. 

The French frigate YA rtemise, C. Laplace commander, arrived at 
Oahu, July 9th, commissi aned to settle the difficulties existing be- 
tween the government oi France and the King of the Sandwich Isl- 
ands The purport of the visit is best set forth in the subjoined 
manifesto, as published in the Sandwich Island Gazette, July 13th, 
1839, addressed by Captain Laplace, in the name of his government, 
to the King of the Sandwich Islands : 

Laplace's Manifesto. 

"His majesty, the King of the French, having commanded me to 
come to Honolulu in order to put an end, either by force or persua- 
sion, to the ill treatment to which the French have been victims at 
the Sandwich Islands, I hasten, first, to employ the last means as 
the most conformable to the political, noble, and liberal system pur- 
sued by France against the powerless, hoping thereby that I shall 
make the principal chiefs of these islands understand how fatal the 
conduct which they pursue toward her will be to their interests, 
and perhaps cause disasters to them and to their country should 
they be obstinate in their perseverance. Misled by perfidious coun- 
selors, deceived by the excessive indulgence which the French gov- 
ernment has extended toward them for several years, they are un- 
doubtedly ignorant how potent it is, and that in the world there is 
not a power which is capable of preventing it from punishing its 
enemies, otherwise they would have endeavored to merit its favor, 
or not to incur its displeasure, as they have done in ill treating the 
French. They would have faithfully put into execution the treaties 
in place of violating them as soon as the fear disappeared, as well 
as the ships of war which had caused it, whereby bad intentions 
had been constrained. In fine, they will comprehend that to perse- 
cute the Catholic religion, to tarnish it with the name of idolatry, 
and to expel, under this absurd pretext, the French from this archi- 
pelago, was to offer an insult to France and to its sovereign. 

"It is, without doubt, the formal intention of France that the 
King of the Sandwich Islands be powerful, independent of every for- 
eign power which he considers his ally, but she also demands that 
he conform to the usages of civilized nations. Now, among the lat- 
ter, there is not even one which does not permit in its territory the 
free toleration of all religions ; and yet, at the Sandwich Islands, the 



478 APPENDIX. 



French are not allowed publicly the exercise of theirs, while Prot- 
estants enjoy therein the most extensive privileges; for these all 
favors, for those the most cruel persecutions. Such a state of affairs 
being contrary to the laws of nations, insulting to those of Catholics, 
can no longer continue, and I am sent to put an end to it. Conse- 
quently I demand, in the name of my goveinment, 

" 1st. That the Catholic worship be declared free throughout all 
the dominions subject to the King of the Sandwich Islands ; that the 
members of this religious faith shall enjoy in them all the privileges 
granted to Protestants. 

" 2d. That a site for a Catholic church be given by the government 
at Honolulu (a port frequented by the French) ; and that this church 
be ministered by priests of their nation. 

"3d. That all Catholics imprisoned on account of religion, since 
the last persecutions extended to the French missionaries, be imme- 
diately set at liberty. 

" 4th. That the King of the Sandwich Islands deposit in the hands 
of the captain of l'Artemise the sum of twenty thousand dollars, as 
a guarantee of his future conduct toward France, which sum the 
government will restore to him when it shall consider that the ac- 
companying treaty will be faithfully complied with. 

" 5th. That the treaty signed by the King of the Sandwich Islands, 
as well as the sum above mentioned, be conveyed on board the 
frigate l'Artemise by one of the principal chiefs of the country ; and 
also that the batteries of Honolulu do salute the French flag with 
twenty-one guns, which will be returned by the frigate. 

" These are the equitable conditions at the price of which the 
King of the Sandwich Islands shall conserve friendship with France. 
I am induced to hope that, understanding better how necessary it 
is for the prosperity of his people and the preservation of his power, 
he will remain in peace with the whole world, and hasten to sub- 
scribe to them, and thus imitate the laudable example which the 
Queen of Tahiti has given in permitting the free toleration of the 
Catholic religion in her dominions ; but if, contrary to my expecta- 
tion, it should be otherwise, and the king and principal chiefs of the 
Sandwich Islands, led on by bad counselors, refuse to sign the treaty 
which I present, war will immediately commence, and all the de- 
vastations, all the calamities, which may be the unhappy but neces- 
sary results, will be imputed to themselves alone, and they must 
also pay the losses which the aggrieved foreigners, in these circum- 
stances, shall have a right to claim. 

(Signed), " C. Laplace, 

" Captain of the French frigate l'Artemise. 

"The 10th July (9th according to date here), 1839." 



APPENDIX. 479 



Treaty between Laplace and Kamehameha III. 

Art. 1st. There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between 
the King of the French and the King of the Sandwich Islands. 

Art. 2d. The French shall be protected in an effectual manner in 
their persons and property by the King of the Sandwich Islands, who 
shall also grant them an authorization sufficient so as to enable 
them juridically to prosecute his subjects against whom they will 
have just reclamations to make. 

Art. 3d. This protection shall be extended to French ships, and to 
their crews and officers. In case of shipwreck, the chiefs and inhab- 
itants of the various parts of the archipelago shall assist them, and 
protect them from pillage. The indemnities for salvage shall be 
regulated, in case of difficulty, by arbiters selected by both parties. 

Art. 4th. K"o Frenchman, accused of any crime whatever, shall be 
tried except by a jury composed of foreign residents, proposed by 
the French consul, and approved of by the government of the Sand- 
wich Islands. 

Art. 5th. The desertion of sailors belonging to French ships shall 
be strictly prevented by the local authorities, who shall employ, 
every disposable means to arrest deserters, and the expenses of the 
capture shall be paid by the captain or owners of the aforesaid ships, 
according to the tariff adopted by the other nations. 

Art. 6th. French merchandises, or those known to be French pro- 
duce, and particularly wines and eaux de vies (brandy), can not be 
prohibited, and shall not pay an import duty higher than 5 per cent. 
ad valorem. 

Art. *7th. No tonnage or importation duties shall be exacted from 
French merchants, unless they are paid by the subjects of the nation 
the most favored in its commerce with the Sandwich Islands. 

Art. 8th. The subjects of King Kamehameha III. shall have a right 
in the French possessions to all the advantages which the French en- 
joy at the Sandwich Islands, and they shall, moreover, be considered 
as belonging to the most favored nation in their commercial relations 
with France. 

Made, and signed by the contracting parties, the lYth July, 1839. 
• _ s Kamehameha III. 

( Sl g Eed )' C. Laplace, 

Post Capt. commanding the French frigate rArtemise. 



480 APPENDIX. 



TRANSLATION. 

Honolulu, Sandwich Isles, July 24, 1837. 
Treaty between the King of the French, Louis Philippe I, represented 

by the Captain A. Du Petit Thouars, and the King of the Sandwich 

Islands, Kamehameha III. 

There shall be perpetual peace and amity between the French and 
the inhabitants of the Sandwich Isles. 

The French shall go and come freely in all the states which com- 
pose the government of the Sandwich Isles. 

They shall be received, and protected there, and shall enjoy the 
same advantages which the subjects of the most favored nation en- 
joy- 

Subjects of the King of the Sandwich Isles shall equally come into 

France, shall be received and protected there as the most favored 
foreigners. 

,q. -jv Kamehameha III. 

^ lgne '' A. Du Petit Thouars, 

Captain Commander of the French frigate La Venus. 

Doings of the English at the Sandwich Islands. 

H. B. M. Ship Carysfort, Honolulu Harbor, February 16, 1843. 

Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint your majesty of the arrival in 
this port of H. B. M. ship under my command, and, according to my 
instructions, I am desired to demand a private interview with you, 
to which I shall proceed with a proper and competent interpreter. 

I therefore request to be informed at what hour to-morrow it will 
be convenient for your majesty to grant me that interview. 

I have the honor to remain your majesty's most obedient and hum- 
ble servant, George Paulet, Captain. 
To his majesty Kamehameha III. 

Honolulu, February 17, 1853. 

Salutations to you, Lord George Paulet, Captain of her Britannic 
majesty's ship Carysfort. 

Sir, — We have received your communication of yesterday's date, 
and must decline having any private interview, particularly under 
the circumstances which you propose. We shall be ready to receive 
any written communication from you to-morrow, and will give it 
due consideration. 

In case you have business of a private nature, we will appoint Dr. 
Judd our confidential agent to confer with you, who, being a person 
of integrity and fidelity to our government, and perfectly acquaint- 
ed with all our affairs, will receive your communications, give all 



APPENDIX. 481 



the information you require (in confidence), and report the same 
to us. With respect, 

_. Kamehameha III. 

(Signed), Kekauluoh!. 

Her Britannic majesty's ship Carysfort, Oahu, 17th February, 1843. 

Sir, — In answer to your letter of this day's date (which I have too 
good an opinion of your majesty to allow me to believe ever ema- 
nated from yourself, but from your ill advisers), I have to state, that 
I shall hold no communication whatever with Dr. G. P. Judd, who, 
it has been satisfactorily proved to me, has been the prime mover in 
the unlawful proceedings of your government against British sub- 
jects. 

As you have refused me a personal interview, I inclose you the 
demands which I consider it my duty to make upon your govern- 
ment, with which I demand a compliance at or before 4 o'clock P.M., 
to-morrow (Saturday), otherwise I shall be obliged to take imme- 
diate coercive steps to obtain these measures for my countrymen. 

I have the honor to be your majesty's most obedient humble ser- 
vant, George Paulet, Captain. 
His majesty Kamehameha III. 

Her Britannic majesty's ship Carysfort, Oahu, February 17, 1843. 
Sir, — I have the honor to notify you that her Britannic majesty's 
ship Carysfort, under my command, will be prepared to make an im- 
mediate attack upon this town, at 4 o'clock P.M., to-morrow (Satur- 
day), in the event of the demand now forwarded by me to the king 
of these islands not being complied with by that time. 

Sir, I have the honor to be your most obedient humble servant, 
(Signed), George Paulet, Captain. 

To Capt. Long, Commander U. S. S. Boston, Honolulu. 
A true copy. Attest, Wm, Baker, Tr. 

[The demands of Captain Paulet resulted in a cession of the isl- 
ands to himself, by the king on the 25th of February, 1843. They 
were restored on the 31st of July, 1844.] 

x 



482 APPENDIX. 



VII. 

COST OF MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 

These costs have been incurred in sustaining missionaries, and 
providing them with dwellings; for the printing and binding de- 
partment, and for the seminary and other public schools. Aid has 
also been rendered, to some extent, in the erection of churches and 
common school-houses ; and large sums have been expended in the 
publication and circulation of books. The whole amount of expendi- 
tures have been nearly as follows : 

819, Preparatory expenses $132 50 

820, " " 10,329 30 



d 
o 

•(-i 

CO 

0Q 

ST 

d 

»rH 
<X> 

© 
«8 

QQ 

<D 

d 
o 

as 

CO 

1- 

o 

«♦-< 
O 

03 
O 

PQ 
d 

a? 

I 

c 

PQ 



821, « " 669 70 

822, " " 1,071 00 

823, «* " 12,074 67 

824, " " ..... 6,746 30 

825, " * 9,764 89 

826, « " ......... 10,241 94 

827, " " 9,761 31 

828, " " 19,434 84 

829, " " 8,092 92 

830, " " 11,166 91 

831, " " 13,942 91 

832, " " 20,631 75 

833, " " 15,833 6? 

834, a " 11,788 02 

835, " 4< 16,173 98 

836, - " a 30,034 83 

837, " " 63,521 09 

838, " " 41,915 90 

839, " " 39,835 45 

840, " " 33,286 65 

841, " " 33,620 02 

842, " " 42,175 46 

843, " " 40,443 66 

844, " " 36,400 00 



$539,089 67 

By the American Bible Society 50,000 90 

By the American Tract Society 19,774 51 

Total $608,865 08 

— From the "Notes" o/Hon. R. C. Wyllie, published in the "Friend* 
for 1844. 



APPENDIX. 483 



Amount carried forward $608,866 08 

r 1845, Preparatory expenses $34,866 92 

34,716 7 

37,730 

" " 33,254 34 

35,711 22 

28,924 81 

26,206 33 

23,027 00 

32,273 35 



s 


1846, 


fe 


1847, 


o 


1848, 


«J 


1849, 


< 


1850, 


Jq 


1851, 
1852, 


« 


.1853, 



$286,709 82 
By the American Bible Society 7,600 00 

$294,309 82 294,309 82 

Total for 35 years $903,174 90 

[The annual amounts from 1845 to 1853 inclusive have been pro- 
cured from the Annual Reports of the American Board of Commis- 
sioners for Foreign Missions and the Ajnerican Bible Society.] 

The Table on the following page, from the official " Report on Mis- 
sionary Lands," was published by Mr. Wyllie in the Polynesian of 
May 7, 1852: 



484 



APPENDIX. 



Table showing the 'period of Missionary Service and its Values, as it has been esti- 
mated and paid for in the United States. 



Names. 



Years' Service. 



Year's 
Salary. 



Average of 
Yearly Salary, 



Alexander, Rev. Mr 

Baldwin, Rev. Mr 

Bond, Rev. Mr , 

Bailey, Mr., teacher 

Clark, Rev. Mr. . 

Cook, Mr. A. S., teacher 

Dole, Rev. Mr 

Emerson, Rev. Mr 

Green, Rev. Mr 

Gulick, Rev. Mr 

Hitchcock, Rev. Mr 

Hall, Mr., late secular agent 

Dimond, Mr., book-binder 

Johnson, Rev. Mr 

Parker, Rev. Mr 

Rogers, E. H., printer 

Rowell, Rev. Mr 

Lyman, Rev. Mr 

Coan, Rev. Mr. Titus 

Ives, Rev. Mr. Mark 

Thurston, Rev. Mr. Asa 

Andrews, Dr 

Lyons, Rev. Mr 

Conde, Rev. Mr 

Rice, Mr., teacher 

Chamberlain, late secular agent 

Castle, S. N., secular agent 

Pogue, Rev. Mr 

Smith, Dr 

Whitney, Rev. Mr., late of Waimea 

Wilcox, Rev. Mr 

Dwight, Rev. Mr 

Witmore, Dr 

Ogden, Miss 

Brown, Miss 

Smith, Miss 

Bishop, Rev. A 

Whittlesey, Rev. Mr 

Smith, Rev. L 

Total 



18 
19 

9 
13 
22 
13 

9 
18 
22 
22 
18 
15 
15 
13 
17 
18 

8 
18 
15 
13 
30 
13 
18 
13 

9 
27 
13 

6 

8 
30 
13 

2 

1 
22 
15 
13 
27 

6 
17 



$450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 
450 



$8,100 
8,550 
4,050 
5,850 
9,900 
5,850 
4,050 
8,100 
9,900 
9,900 
8,100 
6,750 
6,750 
5,850 
7,650 
8,100 
3,600 
8,100 
6,750 
5,850 

13,500 
5,850 
8,100 
5,850 
4,050 

12,150 
5,850 
2,700 
3,600 

13,500 
5,850 
900 
450 
9,900 
6,750 
5,850 

12,150 
2,700 
7,650 



598 years, costing $269,100 
to the pious contributors in the United States, and not costing one rial to the 
Hawaiian people, who had received all the benefit of their zealous services. 



VIII. 

EXTRACTS FROM A SPEECH OF MR. WASHBURN, OF MAINE, 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 4, 1854, 
IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ON THE STATE OF THE 
UNION, ON THE MOTION TO REFER THE PRESIDENT'S 
ANNUAL MESSAGE TO THE APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES. 

Mr. Chairman: I have taken this opportunity to express some 
opinions which I have formed in reference to a question of consid- 
erable magnitude and increasing interest, now engaging the atten- 



APPENDIX. 485 



tion of the American people, and which must, in the progress of 
opinions and events, become, at no distant period, a practical ques- 
tion for the action of this government. I speak of the annexation 
of the Sandwich Islands to the United States. The interest of the 
state which I in part represent upon this floor — the largest ship- 
building, and one of the most important commercial states in the 
Union — in this question, must plead my excuse, if any be necessary, 
for occupying a portion of your time this morning in its consideration. 

With the doctrines of " manifest" destiny in the raw and rampant 
forms in which they have been advocated so frequently of late, I 
trust I need not say I have but little sympathy. There is a school 
of statesmen, or politicians, in this country, which teaches in effect, 
if not in words, that the time has come in our history when our 
chief business as a nation is territorial expansion — when, to borrow 
the current phrase, it is our special " mission" to overrun and annex, 
with little or no regard to time, manner, or circumstances, whatever 
territories or possessions of other nations we may have the wish and 
the power to grasp. Of this school I am not a disciple. So far from 
being so, I have thought that our leading thought and purpose 
should be to learn and practice whatever would most certainly con- 
tribute to our domestic well-being and internal growth ; to develop 
the resources, and cultivate to the highest the capabilities which 
are already ours; to strengthen the foundations where we stand; 
to fix our institutions so firmly upon our own land, and give them 
root so deep, with fibres so numerous and tenacious, in the soil of 
material, political, and social interests, that they will stand secure- 
ly under all the pressure of rivalries and unfriendly interests and 
influences to which they may be exposed from without, and in all 
the storms of passion and faction that may and will arise within. 

Policy and duty alike require that we should look more at home 
and less abroad than I think we are in the habit of doing. I have, 
therefore, been unable to yield my assent to the doctrines which 
deny the right of the general government to protect and encourage 
by its legislation the home interests of the country ; as, for instance, 
to remove obstructions in the great rivers of the Mississippi Valley, 
for the advantage of commerce in a vast section of the Union ; and, 
to the same end, to improve the harbors of our inland seas ; to ar- 
range and adjust the duty on importations, so as to aid the industry 
of the country rather than oppress it ; to construct, directly or in- 
directly, a rail-road upon its own land, from the Mississippi to the 
Pacific, which shall connect the east, the centre, and the west — unite 
them by the ties of acquaintance and good neighborhood, of a com- 
mon interest and feeling beyond the danger or the desire of separa- 
tion. Sir, it is difficult to agree with those who see no power under 



486 APPENDIX. 



the Constitution for expansions and conquests like these, which are 
not material only, but social and moral also, and which, in the lan- 
guage of an English republican, adopted with a single variation, 
" require no garrisons, equip no navies, and might extend from the 
Arctic to the Antarctic circle, leaving every American at his own 
fireside, and giving earth, like ocean, her great Pacific," yet who 
can readily find constitutional warrant for territorial acquisitions, 
whenever, wherever, or however they may seen* desirable, whether 
by the purchase of a Louisiana, which Mr. Jefferson thought to be 
of more than doubtful authority, or by the annexation of a Texas by 
a joint resolution, the most palpably unconstitutional act of this 
government. I do not mean, here and now, to object to any acqui- 
sitions of territory that have been made. Some of them were in- 
dispensable to our commercial independence, and were, I think, just- 
ifiable, having been made by treaty, and without the practice of 
injustice upon any party. But I do intend to question the policy 
of regarding our first things as furthest off, and to express my doubts 
as to the soundness of those principles which the President, in his 
message at the commencement of the present session of Congress, 
speaks of as constituting "the organic basis of union," and which 
are to be found, as I understand him to suggest, in the Virginia and 
Kentucky resolutions of 1798 rather than in the Constitution. Sir, 
with all respect for " the fathers of the epoch of 1798," I must be 
permitted to go behind them and their time, to the epoch of 1788 
and the framers of the Constitution, and to their work, for " the or- 
ganic basis of union." And here I find language like this : 

" We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide 
for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure 
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 

And in the light it imparts, I do not find it easy to believe that 
the central idea of this government has regard only to what is out- 
side of us — that the Constitution pretermits or rejects the ordinary 
domestic duties and functions of civil government. On the contrary, 
I have seen no reason to doubt that it was adopted in part, and in 
no subordinate or incidental sense, for the sake of justice and do- 
mestic prosperity — for the general welfare — to secure the blessings 
of liberty, by assisting us to cultivate the arts which are her con- 
stant companions. 

********** 

The Spaniards claim that Gaetano discovered one of the Sandwich 
Islands as early as A.D. 1542 ; but the claim has not been generally 
acknowledged, though it has received the sanction of Humboldt, 



APPENDIX. 487 



The honor of the discovery must, it is believed, be awarded to Cook, 
who visited them in 1778, and, in honor of his patron, the Earl of 
Sandwich, gave them the name by which they have since been 
known. His tragical fate upon returning to the islands is well 
known, and the spot where he fell is still marked, and was visited 
by Wilkes in 1840. 

For twenty years after the death of Captain Cook, the islands 
were visited but a few times, and it was not till near the commence- 
ment of the present century, when American whaling ships and fur- 
traders began to frequent those seas, that they attracted more than 
the passing notice of the civilized world. Since that time, however, 
they have become the depot of a large and rapidly-increasing trade, 
and the theatre of patient, persistent, and, on the whole, highly 
beneficial missionary operations. They are now the residence of an 
enterprising and influential American population. 

The climate, though warm, is equable and salubrious. "The 
heaven's breath smells wooingly" through the year, the mean tem- 
perature being about seventy-five degrees, and the general range for 
the year from seventy to eighty. The soil is rich in those parts of 
the islands which have long been free from volcanic eruptions. 
Their productions and capabilities are very great ; and with the spur 
and direction of Anglo-American enterprise, the benefits of American 
trade and protection "they would be equal to those of any country, 
although half, at least, of the whole area is incapable of cultivation. 

Independent of halo — an article of food so readily grown that the 
entire population might be maintained, in health and vigor, upon the 
product of six square miles, from w T hich it will be seen how easily 
human life may be sustained in these islands — the chief products are 
sugar, silk, tobacco, cotton, coffee, arrow-root, indigo, rice, ginger, oil, 
salt, pearls, sandal-wood (nearly exhausted, it is to be hoped), woods 
adapted to ship-building and cabinet-work, some of them of beauti- 
ful grain, and nearly as hard as mahogany, skins and hides, wheat, 
potatoes, and fruits of various kinds. Of the articles of commercial 
value, the most important is sugar, as, from the proximity of the 
islands to California and other markets, the demand and prices must 
be such as to warrant its production in large quantities, for which 
the soil and climate are very favorable. More than ten years ago, 
Messrs. Ladd <fe Co. raised an average of a tun and a half to the acre, 
a rate at which one thousand square miles would yield nearly a 
million tuns, or four times the total supply of the United Kingdom 
of Great Britain and Ireland. 

Sir George Simpson was of opinion that the islands might " supply 
with sugar nearly all the coasts of both continents above their own 
latitude, California, Oregon, the Russian settlements both in Asia 



488 APPENDIX. 



and America, and ultimately Japan;" and, he continues, "should 
they be secured in this trade, they could hardly be dislodged from 
it by any rival so long as they enjoy the advantage of being the great 
house of call both in the length and in the breadth of the Pacific 
Ocean." The most reliable accounts since received confirm his opin- 
ions as to the value and promise of this crop. It is not unknown that 
our late commissioner (Hon. Luther Severance) has never failed to 
urge its importance upon our government and people, and when his 
caution, soundness of judgment, and means of information are consid- 
ered, this fact speaks with great force for the present and possible 
magnitude of this interest. The markets which these islands would 
occupy are so remote from our sugar-fields on this side of the con- 
tinent as to preclude injurious competition. 

Silk may be cultivated to advantage in certain sheltered localities, 
and is believed to have even fewer obstacles to surmount than sugar. 
It yields six crops in the year, and may be produced at rates which 
will allow it to be sold at remunerating prices in England and the 
United States. 

Coffee, said to be equal to Mocha, is among the products of the 
islands that may be cultivated successfully, and raised in sufficient 
abundance to be sent with advantage to almost any part of the 
world. 

Mr. Chairman, this people are capable of doing more and better 
for themselves and the world than they have heretofore, as inhabit- 
ants of remote and isolated islands, known or conceived. They have 
claims upon Christendom for better government, laws, and institu- 
tions than they possess. For their own sake, they should be protect- 
ed, held up, and sustained by one of the stronger and more advanced 
of the civilized powers. Only by the multiplied means of education 
and discipline which such connection can give, can depopulation, 
and the vices and wrongs which induct it, be entirely and speedily 
stayed, and long and weary years of pupilage and preparation 
abridged. 

Opposed, sir, as I am to annexation, where it is sought for the 
mere purpose of extending boundaries and dominion, and without 
regard to our wants and actual requirements as connected with all 
the interests of the country ; and fearing, as I have said, the conse- 
quences to be apprehended from the doctrines now so zealously, and, 
it seems to me, thoughtlessly taught, yet, when a case occurs where 
it manifestly may be employed as a means to the noblest ends, and 
humanity demands it, and our national and domestic interests will 
be served by it, and justice waits upon it, I shall not hesitate to yield 
it the best advocacy of my mind, as it will compel that of my heart. 



APPENDIX. 489 



I would not be so confined by the strait-jacket of one idea, whether 
of stand-still or go-ahead, that I could not endeavor to make dis- 
tinctions, and act free from the influence of extreme, which are al- 
most always practically erroneous, opinions. 

The question of the annexation of the Sandwich Islands is one of 
necessity, of time, and of justice. By necessity, as I have used the 
term in these remarks, I do not mean an absolute and indispensable 
need, but that clear, strong, legible convenience and fitness which 
the common understanding sees and feels ; and when this conveni- 
ence and fitness shall be apparent, and the parties declare themselves 
ready and willing for the connection, the time will be propitious, and 
the justice unquestionable, for I think no question can arise as to 
the right of other nations to interfere. 

So far as I am able to judge, of all the conditions required to le- 
gitimate the union, one only is open to doubt — that of the free con- 
sent of the Hawaiians. "Without this consent, intelligently and un- 
reservedly yielded, we should not think for a moment of the connec- 
tion ; for, however plausible the reasons that might be assigned for 
it, it would be a "losing trade" — we should seek a possession which, 
by a law whose operation is never suspended, would wither at our 
touch. The importance of the acquisition in this case, whether in 
regard to the United States or the Islands, can not be doubted. The 
time is when the former may safely and properly desire it ; and when 
the latter shall perceive that it has come for them, let it be made ; 
and from that hour, instead of weakness, we shall have increased 
strength, and shall feel that the people, the government, the Union, 
are greater than before. 

Consider the lines of steamers that are to bridge the Pacific, mak- 
ing a pier of this little group, and from it spanning the ocean on 
either side. Think of California and her future, and of that stupen- 
dous work, which should receive the approbation of all minds and 
the help of all hands, that is to make the Atlantic and Pacific one — 
the Pacific rail-road, the work and the duty of our day, commanded 
by all our necessities, authorized by the Constitution, not more in 
particular and specific parts, which are full and clear, than by the 
whole sweep and living life of that instrument. 

Mindful of these things, and not forgetting that Russia, France, 
and England have at times looked with wistful eyes to these distant 
islands, we shall perceive the importance of availing ourselves of the 
earliest fitting opportunity to unite them, with their consent, to the 
American republic. 

M. Perrin, the French consul, has never intermitted his efforts to 
break up the good understanding which has existed between the 

X2 



490 APPENDIX. 



governments of the United States and the Sandwich Islands ; and 
with his detachment of French priests, acting under the direction of 
the Societas de Propaganda Hide, aided by his allies of the brandy 
interest, has been able to keep the archipelago in constant broils and 
alarms. And though England, it may be, has no present intention 
to take it into her possession, having joined with France in Novem- 
ber, 1843, in a treaty or agreement, by which it was stipulated that 
neither France nor England should take possession of it as a protec- 
torate or otherwise, yet by all Americans there is felt to be an un- 
certainty as to the future movements of either of those powers. It 
is well understood that England would not be pleased with its an- 
nexation to the United States ; and in fear of that event, she may be 
led to take advantage of such opportunities as may arise, or be cre- 
ated by her, to take it into her own safe-keeping. It is known that 
she has long set up a sort of claim by virtue of discovery, and by 
the alleged cession of Kamehameha L, which, they say, his successor 
visited England in 1824 to confirm. 

Sir, I have heard that a distinguished American statesman — then, 
or afterward, a candidate for the Presidency — changed his mind sud- 
denly and completely upon the subject of the annexation of Texas 
by reading an article in an English magazine. With authority like 
this as to the consideration to which magazine articles are entitled, 
I will venture to allude to the fact that the annexation of these isl- 
ands to the British crown has been advocated in some of the English 
magazines and reviews ; and I think there is no one who will deny 
that there is greater probability of England's annexing the Sandwich 
Islands than ever there was of her seizing Texas. 

Before taking leave of this subject, I will notice some of the ob- 
jections which I have seen to this annexation. "The islands are 
small," it is said, " in territory and population." But they are large 
enough for the purposes for which they are desirable, and, as a state 
of the Union, might support a population of a million. " If annex- 
ed, they will furnish no increased facilities to our trade." This is 
mere assertion. It is because almost every body knows that they 
will, that annexation is so generally advocated. " It costs us noth- 
ing to defend them now ; whereas, if annexed, we must fortify and 
garrison them," <fcc. With our trade in the Pacific, we must needs 
keep a large fleet there. Will a home and a station of our own in 
mid-sea increase the expense of supporting that fleet, of refitting and 
repairing it? With the islands as our own, will the probability of 
war be any thing like what it would be were they the home of rivals 
and the seat of conflicting interests ? 

" England has lost by her colonies, therefore America ought not 
to annex the Sandwich Islands." The example proves nothing, be- 



APPENDIX. 491 



cause no one contemplates annexing them as colonies, but as a terri- 
tory, to be united with us ; and which, in time, may be admitted as 
one of the States of the Union. 

" But they are a great way off." Two weeks, three weeks, per- 
haps, when our Pacific road is constructed. 

"We have territory enough already." Enough, perhaps, like 
Maine, or Virginia, or Louisiana, or Ohio ; but this little addition is 
needed for the uses and development of these and all the rest. 

"They are not conterminous territory." Neither is Long Island 
or Mount Desert ; but our steam shuttles will draw a thread of con- 
nection as good as any other. 

Having endeavored to show that there are many and valid rea- 
sons why we should be ready to receive the Sandwich Islands when- 
ever they shall signify a willingness to become part and parcel of 
the United States, and noticed some of the objections that have been 
made to such a consummation, I desire to address a few words to 
the conservative feeling of the country, which, in view of the les- 
sons of history and the opinions of the fathers of the Republic, as it 
understands them, regards all enlargement of boundaries as fraught 
with evil, boding unsteadiness and danger, threatening the stability 
of our institutions and the perpetuity of the Union. I do not share 
in these fears. The more extended our dominion — where we do 
have dominion — the greater the variety of soil and climate, the 
more numerous the fields of industry, enterprise, and production, 
the stronger and the more independent we become. Dependent 
upon each other, the states are independent of the world besides. 
The South is the complement of the North, and the West of the East. 
Our differences, such as they are, become our bond of union and 
tower of strength. 

No, Mr. Chairman, to accessions of territory, fairly and honorably 
acquired, when necessary to our development, and when there are 
no reasons to oppose them, arising from the character of the people 
to be united with us, their customs, laws, and institutions, there 
should be no objection. I fear not the ability of our admirable form 
of government to hold steady and beneficent sway over any extent 
of territory. It is as good for one hundred states as one, and the 
notion that a republic like ours is adapted only to small states or 
territories, is one of those fallacies that should be given to the winds 
as lighter than they. Who can doubt that this government stands 
more securely to-day, with its thirty-one states, than if it had been 
confined within its original limits — " from Maine to Georgia ?" Thus 
far, no dangers have appeared from the accessions we have made, 
simply as accessions. Whether they are to be apprehended from 
the manner in which the acquisitions were made, or other causes, 



492 APPENDIX. 



does not in any degree affect the positions I have taken in reference 
to the annexation of the Sandwich Islands. Annexation, thus far, 
seems to have proceeded pari passu with our preparation and ability 
to receive and govern what we have acquired. Adaptation has 
kept company with extension. "When Louisiana was purchased, 
Fulton came with the steam-boat, and made New Orleans nearer to 
Washington than Savannah had been before. When Texas was an- 
nexed, the rail-road had been introduced ; and now, practically, her 
capital is nearer that of the Union than St. Louis was when her 
venerable and distinguished representative was first a senator from 
Missouri. And when California added another star to our banner, 
the telegraph was ready to announce the fact from the Bay of Fun- 
dy to the Gulf of Mexico in less time than Puck agreed to put a 
girdle round the earth. And the Sandwich Islands, when the Pacific 
rail-road is built, will, measured by time and expense, be nearer this 
city than Bangor was when Maine was admitted into the Union. 
With the facilities we enjoy for the communication of intelligence 
and the transportation of persons, and of the vast and various pro- 
ductions of our different climes, size and weight, when of congruous 
parts, but bind us more indissolubly together. We can not fly apart. 

My faith in American republicanism, in our modern civilization, 
and the elements which vitalize it, distinguishing it from all that 
have gone before, and lending it a power which they never knew, 
does not permit me to doubt the correctness of the views I have ad- 
vanced. The history and experience of other nations and other 
times may afford admonitions against fraud, violence, rapacity — 
against the systems of the Roman and Teutonic civilizations in re- 
spect to colonies and dependencies; but not against good faith, just- 
ice, peace, and her victories, more renowned than those of war ; not 
against our Christian civilization. 

Between that miscalled progress, which, in its wantonness, disre- 
gards experience and flouts justice, and that stolid conservatism, dry 
and bloodless, which lives in the ashes of the past, daring nothing 
for which it has not the authority of precedent, there is no occasion 
to decide in determining the question before us. 

No age should be a mere repetition of its predecessor. Every age 
brings or finds its own needs and duties, and of them must be its own 
judge; and those among us who reject the counsel of the latter 
time as to what is fitting, err as surely as they who will not inquire 
of the ancienter what is best. They overlook or misread all the 
lessons of history, and misapprehend the laws of human progress, 
which show 

11 That ever through the ages one increasing purpose runs, 
And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns." 



APPENDIX. 493 



They exhibit a skepticism, as blind as it is discouraging, in regard 
to the forces and functions of Christian civilization and its appoint- 
ed co-worker, Republican Liberty ! 



THE END. 






i w 



14 ft 



9 



1 




% ■ 


as 


y % 




- 








































o 









*2» ,r 

O 



s 






v^\ 









<p 









-//// 



<? 



^ ^ 






v 



oV 



oS * 



cK 






•V 









^ ^ 



<- 



L* 






<0* 



^>v> 



^ 



v </> 









r 






& "% 









^0 o. 















A 1 - c> 













^ 



j? X 






* ^> 









-fc A 












o 












■:> . 















Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2003 

PreservationTechnologies 






A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
* ""<£> Cranberry Township, PA 16066 

,-i *t (724)779-2111 






"r 


















■^ 

























'O V. 1 " 

y*-* 






: 



^ 




































